NYC Marathon Winner Lelisa Desisa Succeeds In Running By ‘Pushing Through’ – Forbes

Last fall Ethiopian distance runner Lelisa Desisa won the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon. It was the first time that Desisa, now 29, had won a major long-distance event since winning his second Boston Marathon in 2015.

Desisa, who also won Boston in 2013, has raced in the All-Africa Games and run the marathon event in the IAAF World Athletics Championships. He will also return for the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon, November 3, 2019, with the hopes of winning a second consecutive race there.

Last month I caught up with Desisa to get some perspective on what it takes to finish and win a major marathon.

Andy Frye: As an accomplished runner, tell us what is special about the New York Marathon?

Desisa: New York City is a very famous and special place. I have run the TCS New York City Marathon many times, and finally I won the race with my fastest time there. I decided that 2018 was my year and it was an honor to win such a historic marathon. The city is so busy and alive and fast paced; it truly is amazing. It is like Addis Ababa. It’s similar, so it feels comforting to me.  

AF: How do you do prepare for your races? Tell us about both the physical and mental.

Desisa: My coach prepares the training plan. I follow the plan closely. On top of the training plan, you must rest as much as possible and eat right and take care of your body with good massages and physiotherapist work. The mental aspect is that I know what I need to do to be in the best position to win the event I am training for. So I focus my mind very well and do not change my mind until after the race. 

AF: All runners experience “the wall” and adversity at times. How do you combat your most difficult runs?

Desisa: I just push through. I am very mentally strong and I know the pain of the long runs is coming and I and ready for it. I have a window of time to run, and I know I need to push hard to make the most of every minute I have in my professional running career. This is big motivation for me.  

AF: If you could do any other occupation besides running, what would you do?

Desisa: I have many occupations in addition to athletics. I am already heavily involved in businesses that I started in Ethiopia. I have developed large areas of land in and around Addis Ababa for factories and I employ almost 300 people in the companies I own. In our factories, we do concrete work for buildings, install water pumps and one of the buildings processes plastic for making clean water bottles for drinking.

AF: What do you plan to conquer next, both inside and outside of running?

Desisa: Of course I want to defend my title in the TCS New York City Marathon first and foremost, and maybe I will focus on the Tokyo Olympic Games. In my personal life, right now I am waiting government approval to start breaking ground on building schools in my home region in Ethiopia. I am investing in the youth with my coach and mentor Haji Adillo, and we want to give back and help to spark a new generation of creative young minds from our homeland.