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runnersworld.com/college-runner-profiles/five-minutes-with-futsum-zienasellassie
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Five Minutes with Futsum Zienasellassie
Last year’s fourth-place NCAA finisher is looking for big things from
himself and his NAU teammates this fall.
By
John A. Kissane;
Image by
NAU Athletics
Published
September 30, 2014
When Futsum Zienasellassie arrived in Indianapolis from his native Eritrea
in 2007, running was barely on his radar. His priorities included learning
English and playing soccer, not necessarily in that order. But soon
Zienasellassie’s natural running gifts were discovered during eighth grade
gym class, and it was only a matter of time before soccer was on the back
burner and the Indiana prep distance scene had a new top dog.
As a ninth grader, Zienasellassie finished seventh (the highest placing
ever for a freshman) at Foot Locker Nationals and went on to claim the
state 3200m championship the following spring. He eventually notched two
runner-up finishes at Foot Locker, crossing the line three seconds behind
Lukas Verzbicas in 2010 and then, a year later, battling Edward Cheserek
the full 3.1 miles only to miss out on victory by a single second. The
latter performance was just one week after Zienasellassie set a course
record in winning Nike Cross Nationals.
The son of a Christian Orthodox priest who stresses the value of a good
education, Zienasellassie worked was a hard worker in the classroom as well
and progressed to Northern Arizona University in the fall of 2012. He
finished 31st at cross country nationals that November, taking top freshman
honors and helping NAU reach the podium in fourth place. On the track the
following spring Zienasellassie finished 13th in the 5,000m NCAA final.
Last fall Zienasellassie upped the ante, battling the nation’s best
harriers in unusually harsh conditions to claim fourth place as the
Lumberjacks fell to Colorado by a narrow 20-point margin.
Zienasellassie, now 21, opened his 2014 cross country season on Sept. 6
with an unattached run at the George Kyte Classic at Flagstaff. There, he
finished a step behind NAU senior Matt McElroy in 22:21.1 for the 4.5-mile
course at 7,100 feet elevation. Next up for Zienasellassie and the No.
2-ranked Lumberjacks is the Washington Invitational in Seattle on Oct. 4.
Running Times: At nationals last November you finished fourth and your team
was a very close runner-up, so there’s a lot of attention on Northern
Arizona and particularly on you as the new season gets going. Did your
training go well over the summer and how is your fitness?
Futsum Zienasellassie: I had a great summer. I actually stayed up here in
Flagstaff and made sure I got in all my mileage for the first time. The
past two years, I didn’t really get in the all the work I needed over the
summer. But this year I made sure I got my mileage in, made sure I stayed
healthy by eating right and stretching and doing every little thing I could
to improve that fourth place. If I do that, the team place will improve as
well.
RT: I believe you had an injury during the track season. Has that cleared
up completely?
FZ: After cross country I didn’t train the way I wanted and I had a rough
indoor track season. I was playing catch-up. And then I stepped on the
inside rail at the Payton Jordan meet at Stanford and hurt my ankle, so I
was out for the rest of the season. But that’s no problem now, and over the
summer I was healthy and good to go, so I got in all the training I needed
to catch up with everyone else.
RT: What did your summer training consist of? Was it primarily
re-establishing your base, and did you do any workouts?
FZ: It was different. Past summers, I went back to Indiana and all I did
was play soccer (laughs). But this year a good friend of my brother who has
run 60:07 for the half-marathon was here. He came from Eritrea, and so he
was up here training with us over the summer. That helped me. I was running
twice a day and every Monday we did a hill workout, running up in the
mountains. And just being consistent, eating healthy, sleeping, taking
naps, all that stuff. Over the summer that’s all I did, there was no work,
nothing else.
RT: What did your weekly mileage get up to at the high point?
FZ: Around 65 in singles and probably like 25 more when I was doubling. For
five weeks I ran twice a day so it was around 85 to 90 miles those weeks.
That’s like 100 or more down at sea level.
RT: NAU has come close to winning cross country nationals a number of times
and last year was just a 20-point gap between you and Colorado, and you
guys were actually leading with 2K to go. Did you return to Flagstaff last
November pleased with a strong effort and finishing so high, or
disappointed to miss by such a narrow margin?
FZ: It was hard to settle for second place because of how hard we worked
over the season, and like you said, we were leading with 2K to go, so we
were winning the whole thing for 8K. And it was hard knowing that some of
our guys wouldn’t be on the team the following year. We really wanted it
but we knew we’d be coming back, and if we work harder and give it a shot
again it could be our day this year.
RT: Your team is looking really strong, as you return five of last year’s
top seven and have Tyler Byrne [a transfer from Louisville] in addition to
several strong newcomers. Plus I see your older brother [Bahlbi
Gebreyohanns] is healthy this fall and raced well recently [at the Dave
Murray Invitational in Tucson]. What do you expect from him?
FZ: This will be his last year and he’s been up and down with injuries, but
he’s running good so far and we’re hoping he’ll be a plus for us this
season. He was actually leading most of that race [before finishing fifth].
He knows he needs more consistent training, and he’s working on that.
RT: Bahlbi really encouraged you with your running when you were getting
started, didn’t he?
FZ: When I was back home in Eritrea I used to go with him when he would run
and hold his warm-up clothes and wait for him. So I used to see how hard he
worked for what he really liked. But he didn’t have an opportunity to
achieve his goals because he went into the military. But yes, it was him
who started running in my family and I followed. When I came here I thought
I could take his dream and maybe see what I could do.
RT: Your race with Edward Cheserek at the 2011 Foot Locker Cross Country
Championships was extremely close, with the two of you battling the whole
way and Cheserek taking the narrowest of victories. I know you two have
since become friends, but are you looking forward to another opportunity to
beat him?
FZ: Yeah, yeah. When I went to Foot Locker I was undertrained and he was
more experienced than I was, so I want to race him as often as I can to
work on my weaknesses. It’s always great to race against the best and then
go back and work on your weaknesses during the competition.
RT: What are you working on this fall to be able to challenge for the
individual title?
FZ: I worked really hard over the summer and did a lot of hill workouts. I
don’t think anybody will outrun me from the start or in the middle of the
race. I think the problem is going to be just at the end, you know, how
fast I can close. These past two years I was hanging for my life every race
because there were a lot of faster people who could just take the race from
the start. But now this year I think I’m stronger and the mileage is in.
The only problem I could see is the last 400 or last 200 meters of the
race. I’ve got to work on that, I’ve got to work on my speed.
RT: You’ll be going to the Washington Invitational on Oct. 4 and then
Wisconsin two weeks later. It’s not the championship part of the season,
but those are big meets with a number of top teams. What’s your approach
going to be in those meets?
FZ: At Washington we’re not going to be in the best shape of the season
because of the high mileage and hard work we’re doing right now—the speed
work isn’t in and the mileage is too high. And everyone there is probably
doing similar things, so that race is more to tell us what we need to do to
improve for later on. We’re not trying to be the best team right now, not
at all, but it will help us see where we’re at as a team and also where I’m
at. Wisconsin is actually the race I’m looking forward to, having a big day
and placing higher than I did last year or running a lot faster time than I
did last year. By that time I should be in really good shape.
RT: I know the nationals course at Terre Haute is a venue you’ve run at
quite a few times now going back to your high school days, and it’s a
special place for you. Are you already thinking about another chance to
race there?
FZ: Oh yeah, I’m very excited. And what’s making me excited is just that my
parents and family can’t really get to a lot of places to see me race. But
when I get back to Indiana I don’t feel I’m racing just for my teammates
and myself, I also have my family and everyone who is very close to me. So
I run for everyone, and it makes it more special. And like you said, that
place at Terre Haute is also special for me. It really saved my life, not
only as a runner but as a person.
Received on Wed Oct 01 2014 - 11:07:49 EDT