Protected from the wind

Protected from the wind in the group: Samuel Fitwi did a good job managing his race had remained the same. Then I „hit the wall“ and the last seven kilometres were the hardest run of my life. But what the heck: I finished! Even through the final time of 2:12:14 is not what I had imagined, I am still satisfied. Among other things, it was enough for a new Rhineland-Palatinate state record. I set the next record at the GE- NERALI BERLIN HALF MARA- THON, because no runner from Rhineland-Palatinate has ever run a half marathon faster than 61:44 minutes. Since fleeing from Eritrea, I have been living in the state, more precisely in the small town of Gerolstein in the Eifel. This year I started running for the club Silvesterlauf Trier. The old Roman city is not far from Gerolstein. „I have found a new home in the Eifel“ I found a new home in the Eifel-Moselle region after I fled Eritrea and inhumane conditions at the age of 17 for an opportunity for a better life. I would never have dared to - 6 -

dream that I would become a top runner in Germany with the opportunities this would bring. In the beginning, I worked as a painter. In Gerolstein, my current coach Yannik Duppich was one of the first to recognise and promote my talent. Yannik lives for running and is above all a good friend. He also wore the German jersey in his youth and competed in the European Cross Country Championships. He combines his enthusiasm for running with a great thirst for knowledge when it comes to theoretical basics. He knows how we can work together on my weaknesses and build on my strengths—and designs my individual training plans accordingly. Because he will soon become a father for the second time, Duppich could neither join him in Berlin nor at the training camps. But that was not an issue. “The two altitude training camps in Ethiopia were a great experience for me. It was a bit like coming home. I even met friends from the past who fled from Eritrea to Ethiopia. Being able to talk in my mother tongue was very nice.” „Now I‘m looking forward to the next marathon“ After the marathon in Seville, I reduced my training for three weeks before I worked back up to my weekly 170 kilometres again. Since the weather in the Eifel was not so good, I flew to Monte Gordo in Portugal. There I met marathon European champion Richard Ringer and top Belgian runner Simon Debognies and prepared with them for the GENERALI BER- LIN HALF MARATHON. It was worth it. And now I‘m looking forward to my next marathon, probably on September 24 in Berlin. - 7 -