Tilahun Regassa is one of the rising stars in our sport. You may not have heard his name quite yet, but make sure to remember it. Regassa is having a monster season on the road circuit here in the U.S., most recently winning the Falmouth Road Race.Only 19, Regassa runs with flair and style, taking leads from the gun and pushing the pace until everyone breaks. He's had his fair share of success on the track, but on the roads he steps it up to another level.
One thing I like about Regassa is that he loves this sport and he loves to win. You can see the joy he has in the picture to the left, and this weekend at Falmouth, he was so confident that he was going to win that he started blowing kisses to the crowd just after three miles (the race is seven miles long).
Cape Code Times' Falmouth Race Recap
Shannon Rowbury, on the other hand, doesn't blow kisses to the crowd half way through the race, but she does use Twitter, and uses it incredibly well. I follow at least 20 athletes on Twitter and Rowbury utilizes the social media tool better than any of them. What makes her so great to follow? The fact that she puts her thoughts down, 140 characters at a time, exactly how she is thinking them, and she posts on everything, giving those that follow her a great glimpse into the life of a professional runner, but also giving insight into who she is and what she's about.
Shannon Rowbury's Twitter Feed
What Regassa and Rowbury have in common is that they are strong personalities. Our sport needs to allow athletes to show their personalities more so than they do now. Outlets like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, etc. give athletes the opportunity, but the leaders of this sport should encourage the athletes to use this technology more, as it only increases the profile of the sport.
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