Though the Run Across Ethiopia harriers finished yesterday’s 30-mile run with their bodies intact and their spirits high, strategic holes emerged during the Day 5 performance. The runners failed to stay in a pack and some legged out the final miles as rugged individuals. As a result, they didn’t recognize immediately when a Team TESFA Ethiopian runner nearly pulled up lame.

Fast forward to this morning on the team bus leaving Ziway for Day 6, another tough 30-miler. Coach Dan Zemper — a late but very important addition to the run — held court with an allegorical story about how Canadian geese fly faster in a tight V formation because they remain in a pack, draft behind one another, and never let a single goose fall behind. The runners took Zemper’s words to heart, remained in a pack today, and finished strong despite a vicious midday sun that beat through a cloudless sky. Mercifully, today was the last of four consecutive 30-mile days. The Run Across Ethiopia team has now completed 168 miles since Sunday, putting them 67 percent of the way to Yirgachefe.

Here are Dan Zemper’s importance words on the bus:

Hans Voss explains how the team saved energy by staying together and drafting on Day 6 — a tough one given the midday heat and 30-mile distance.

Canadian honkers they are not, but Run Across Ethiopia harrier Jeffrey Metzler and Ethiopian nurse Mamoosh glide like swans toward a water break on Day 6.

Tags: Run Across Ethiopia

This entry was posted on Friday, January 14th, 2011 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Dispatch from Afar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.