Blog Roll: Leonel Manzano

Oh summer, what a summer! It has been a very eventful and busy season. I’m glad to finally be able to sit down and give a brief update on most of what has been happening. I have tried to update twitter constantly, so follow me @leomanzano! Everything has been working out very well. I participated at the Adidas Grand Prix a few weeks ago. I finished 3rd and tied my PR 3:33. I also ran at the USA Nationals and finished 2nd. Afterwards, I traveled to Eugene, Oregon and had a slight bump in the road (I guess it’s not necessary to talk about that one). Things didn’t go as planned, but I’m ready to make up for it. Finally, I competed in Gateshead, England and finished 3rd against Asbel Kiprop (Olympic champion) and tied with time with Augustine Choge 3:33:51 (Top 5 in the World). Now, it is off to Tanger, Morrocco for my first 800m race of the season!

Right now, I'm in Egmond aan zee, right outside Amsterdam. It’s a nice little beach town. Amsterdam, Netherlands is just beautiful, very lush and green. Most of Team Cook is here as well (Shannon, Treniere, Jacob, David, Ryan and I). We are all trying to get adjusted to the time change being that we are six hours or ahead of “home”, but we are certainly loving every moment of it. We are all very excited to be here…


As I was growing up, I always dreamt of traveling. Amsterdam sounded so magical, and being able to experience and explore this city has been extraordinary. I sometimes feel like I am in a dream when I see where life has taken me. Not many believed that a young boy from a small village in Mexico would one day be traveling the world like this, to do what he loves. Without doubt, when we believe, the possibilities are infinite. And even now competing at the world class level is almost unreal as well. I remember as a kid watching Track and Field (Athletics as the world calls it) on TV and just thinking how out of reach they seemed and what life they must have. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to be in the mix. This being said, I thank my lucky star and count my blessings every day.

Anyways, one thing I truly love about Europe is that people speak many languages. It saddens me to see what legislators and politicians are doing in Arizona. The racial profiling, discriminatory laws that affect hard working people, and even banning Spanish in the classrooms are just a few examples of regulations that do not help make our society a better place. Here in Amsterdam, students are taught two or three languages in elementary school. I have met many people who speak five or more languages, which is so great. During my few days in the Netherlands, I’ve been trying to learn a new word here and there because I would like to one day be able to communicate directly with this people, as I know it is an essential part of understanding the culture. I feel fortunate to know that people here are nice enough to go out of their way to speak English and try to talk to me. I really wish that people and politicians who are trying to do away with ESL/Spanish or other bilingual programs in the U.S. could take a bit from the rest of the world and stop being so closed minded.
Anyhow, I am off to Morroco this weekend. I am almost certain that it will be a lot of fun, especially because I haven’t ran an 800m race in a while. I’m excited to see what awaits me there. Being way out of my comfort zone can turn into an exciting adventure. I am not sure if many people there will speak English, but I’m hoping my Spanish will bring me through. I speak two and a-half languages, Spanish and English, and the remaining half comes from my two years of Portuguese schooling. Haha.
So I must get going, but before I do that I want to send out a big shout out to all my people back home in the USA. Especially my family and friends from Granite Shoals, Marble Falls, and Austin!

Leo blogs on FLOTRACK