Friday, August 13, 2010

Berihun the Marathoner

The blog has been dormant a full year, but Berihun has not. Since last summer Berihun has developed into a full-time professional marathoner. He has been working on building results and adapting to the longer distance in a series of international events that will hopefully take him to his dream of competing in the 2011 World Championships at the end of next summer in South Korea, and the Olympics in London in summer 2012.

Back in April, Berihun joined an impressive contingent of five Israeli runners who placed 22-26 consecutively in the Paris Marathon (click the right "voir les resultats" here). Amazing to see "Israel" listed as the largest bunch of elite finishers after Kenya and Ethiopia, well above the host French.

More recently, Berihun just returned from the 2010 European Athletic Championships in blistering Barcelona. The men's marathon on August 1st was run in brutal heat, about 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 67 percent humidity. Many of the top runners and 20-25 percent of the entire field dropped out. Berihun was determined to finish, even if his time was significantly hurt by the weather conditions.

Berihun will be home for the New Year holidays before traveling back to a training camp in October to prepare for some local Israeli races later in the fall. We'll be with him the whole way. Stay tuned and stay in touch.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Recent Results and Upcoming Schedule

A quick update on Berihun's post-Maccabiah racing results:
Berihun ran two races in Belgium this week. On Sunday night he ran a 5000m race in the Flander's Cup in Brasschaat, Belgium. He won his heat in 14:18, but he was somewhat disappointed because he was placed in the 2nd heat where he was unable to achieve his goal of breaking 14:00 as it ended up being a slow tactical race where Berihun was forced to do much of the pacemaking work. Here is a link to the results (see page 10):http://www.acbreak.be/IntMeeting/090726.pdf. On Tuesday night, Berihun ran a 3000m race in Oudenaarde, Belgium where he again won his heat and set a personal best for the distance, recording a finishing time of 8:23.73. He hopes that these two results will get him seeded in faster heats going forward giving him an opportunity to run better times.
Upcoming races for Berihun tentatively include a 5k in Belgium on August 2 and another 5k in Amsterdam the following week.
Looking a bit further ahead, Berihun's schedule includes the Half Marathon World Championship in Birmingham, UK in October and then Israel's Half Marathon Championship in Beit Shean in December.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Thanks and help Berihun get faster

After a long day, we want to add one last note thanking everyone on Team Berihun for being so generous to this cause, and to share a final memory from the Maccabiah victory.

After winning the 10k and finishing with an excellent time, Berihun still had to scrounge for a hitchhike ride back home after his victory, and he still works long days, rising at 6 to feed his family. The same difficult situation that we found so poignant when we met him in December still prevails, which is why he still needs our help.

Someone ultimately gave Berihun a lift back home after the race. But he could definitely use a lift from you. Major thanks to everyone who has donated. For everyone else:

Please send checks made out to the Keter Torah Charity Fund (for tax-exemption purposes; every cent is disbursed to this cause) and earmarked Team Berihun. Mail to:

Rafi Rosenbaum
399 Churchill Road

Teaneck, NJ 07666

Or donate online:








Write "Team Berihun" in the purpose box and all funds will be processed through tax-exempt bodies in the U.S. and Israel and disbursed directly to Berihun and his family.

Thank you!

Berihun wins Maccabiah 10k in 29:56

From Team Berihun

Watch Berihun leg it out against his teammate and competitor Tesame Mugase in the exciting final two laps of the 18th Maccabiah men's 10,000 meter final. A sub-30 10k is always a good time, but especially impressive on a night with only two elite runners and humid, breezy Tel Aviv conditions. Congratulations to Maccabiah USA's Jeff Weinstein, who earned bronze.

1. Berihun Webee (Israel) 29:56
2. Tesame Mugase (Israel) (30:0?)
3. Jeff Weinstein (USA) 33:18

The finish and post-medal ceremony reactions (Berihun: "I'm tired!").





Berihun is saying, "I am SO tired. Thank goodness it's over." To explain: in addition to running a sub-30 10k race, Berihun might be exhausted because he left his house the the day of the race -- like the day after and most days -- at 6 am for work. Another reason why helping him is crucial.

Israel and America's Fastest

The Maccabiah is a unique event that brings together Jewish athletes from all over the world. At last night's Maccabiah track meet in Tel Aviv, the fastest young runners of American Jewry took a moment to meet the fastest young long-distance runners (video) in Israel, Berihun Webee and Tesame Mugase (photo) . Go Ethio-America, only in Israel!

From Team Berihun

From Team Berihun

Berihun is Maccabiah 10K champ!

Berihun won the 18th Maccabiah 10,000 meters event last night in an exciting race against his friend and competitor Tesame Mugase, another talented Israeli runner. The American Maccabiah track team was at the meet in Tel Aviv to support the Americans competing in all the events and to watch the top long-distance runners in Israel: Berihun and Tesame.

Berihun finished with an outstanding 29:56. Although the event was on a muggy July evening in Tel Aviv , Berihun was satisfied with his impressive sub-30 time. Not bad for a 10K with only two elite runners.

Check out the pics and video of the event.

More details coming up.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Donate to help Berihun!


Please send checks made out to the Keter Torah Charity Fund (for tax-exemption purposes; every cent is disbursed to this cause) and earmarked Team Berihun. Mail to:

Rafi Rosenbaum
399 Churchill Road

Teaneck, NJ 07666



Alternatively, write "Team Berihun" in the purpose box and all funds will be processed through tax-exempt bodies in the U.S. and Israel and disbursed directly to Berihun and his family.

Thank you!