Health & Injuries Futsum Zienasellassie crossed the finish line at the 2023 New York City Marathon on November 5, another clock began.
Zienasellassie, in his third marathon, finished in 2:12:09, good enough for 10th place overall and the first American—one spot ahead of his compatriot Elkanah Kibet.
Zienasellassie knew, however, that he’d have to forgo some of the typical post-marathon celebrations. The New York City Marathon on February 3, 2024, were now 90 days away.
For a professional marathoner, three months is a relatively tight turnaround. Many of the top contenders to make the U.S. Olympic team had more time; they had competed a month earlier at the Chicago Marathon, which has a much flatter, and less punishing, course than New York. The American field at New York, consequently, wasn’t as competitive as normal years.
was now the sole focus agent and coaches, thought running both races would be doable. There’s precedence for the double: Aliphine Tuliamuk (2020), Abdi Abdirahman (2020), and Meb Keflezighi (2012 and 2016) made Olympic marathon teams after running New York the prior fall. In fact, Keflezighi did it with just a 69-day buffer in 2012. This reassured Zienasellassie.
Once he exited Central Park after New York, he went straight into recovery mode. Zienasellassie took the next three days totally off from running, then jogged easily every other day for the next week while also spending a lot of time in the hot tub and pool. Most important, he fought the urge to get back into intense training too quickly.
Qualifying for the Paris Olympics Keira DAmato Talks About Her Trials DNF.
Highs and lows
Zienasellassie, 31, has had an unconventional path to becoming one of America’s top marathoners.
He grew up in Eritrea, and when he was 13, in 2007, he and his mother and younger brother moved across the world to settle in Indianapolis. There, he blossomed as a runner, becoming one of the most dominant high schoolers in the country and sparring with prep phenoms like Lukas Verzbicas and Edward Cheserek. Zienasellassie finished runner-up at the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships twice, and his senior year, he won the individual title at the 2011 Nike Cross Nationals.
As one of the top high school recruits in the country, Zienasellassie signed with Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff. During his time with the Lumberjacks, he became an eight-time All American and in 2016, he led the school to its first Qualifying for the, jumpstarting what would become a dynasty.
He became a U.S. citizen in 2016, and after graduating in the spring of 2017, Zienasellassie signed with Hoka as a member of the Flagstaff-based Northern Arizona (NAZ) Elite program.
His first year as a pro was solid—he ran a 5,000-meter personal best of 13:34.84—but he didn’t perform up to his expectations. He finished only 14th in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. Zienasellassie was frustrated with the plateau. In 2018, he decided to part ways with the group.
“I had no issue with fitting in or feeling a certain way about the team,” he said. “It was just all about not performing at the level that I wanted to perform at.”
That left him without a sponsorship contract, which—in addition to a stipend—often covers travel expenses, coaching, health care, gear, and shoes.
What he hoped would be a temporary situation developed into a nearly four-year period without a sponsor.
During that time, Zienasellassie and his wife, Samrawit, welcomed their first son, Eisey, in 2018. (Their second son, Isaak, is now six months old.) Samrawit was also completing a master of social work program at NAU, and Zienasellassie said that balancing everything was tough at times.
But he began seeing improvement in 2019, highlighted by a victory at the U.S. 10 Mile Championships in Minneapolis. Then, as was the case for many professional runners, the COVID-19 pandemic threw off his racing schedule, but Zienasellassie was determined to make the best of it.
“My desire to run and compete, and my confidence in my ability to compete at this level, was never shot,” he said. “In fact, it even improved.”
Coming full circle
In 2022, Zienasellassie approached NAZ Elite and executive director Ben Rosario about returning to the group.
“I really wanted to get him back on the team,” Rosario said. “I felt strongly that if he were to rejoin, special things were going to happen.”
By October, Zienasellassie had signed a new contract—no ill feelings on either side.
“[Rosario] was the one who fought for me,” Zienasellassie said. “I was very grateful for how much Ben spoke of me.”
NAZ Elite has changed a lot from 2017—the group is larger, and there’s a younger contingent of runners who are focused on track. But Zienasellassie enjoys the new dynamic. “I think this team meshes very well,” he said. “We really enjoy each other’s company.”
With a new team came a new event. In 2022, Zienasellassie completed his first marathon: the California International Marathon, which doubled as that year’s U.S. Marathon Championships. He won the race by 51 seconds.
“He’s a natural at the marathon, not only because of his physical gifts but also his calm, confident demeanor on race day,” Rosario said.
In April of 2023, he lined up for the Rotterdam Marathon, where he finished in a big PR of 2:09:40. Zienasellassie had found his momentum again.
Despite immediate success, it wasn’t until New York when Zienasellassie was forced to reckon with the intensity of a major marathon. The last 5 miles were hard—the top group got away from him, and his pace slowed to 5:20–25 per mile after clicking off sub-5:00 miles for most of the race. But he was proud of how he finished, and he took away a wealth of confidence for the Olympic Trials.
Now, with the Trials set for Saturday morning in Orlando, Florida, Zienasellassie feels like he has done the appropriate amount of recovery—and training—to put himself in a spot to qualify for his first Olympic team. To guarantee a spot, he’ll have to finish in either first or second place.
“I think I did a very good job in terms of how much I needed to push for New York, while knowing that there was a quick turnaround for the Trials,” he said. “I think I did everything I can to recover and to prepare my body for another marathon.”
Qualifying for the Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner who has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
