In late December through early January Italian engineer and amateur runner Marco Degasper spent three weeks in the Simien Mountains volunteering and training with the Simien Girl Runners and the extended team of both males and females that they have inspired. He was amazed to find that the core team of 10 girls, now nine with Simien Girl Runner LemLem Mulat starting college this past October, is accompanied by upwards of 30 other young men and women who are training with them on a regular basis.
Marco, who had already made some friends in Debark as a result of having gone trekking in the Mountains with some friends in 2009, enjoyed getting to know the extended team, training with them under various conditions, teaching them English, and helping to arrange informal footraces to give away the 8 pairs of new running sneakers he had brought with him for the runners. He was also surprised to see that many of the runners, both male and female, prefer to train, in the summer, in the less structured plastic sandal type shoes that can be purchased in Debark. Ethiopian summer, which is the Western world's winter, is now. It seems many of the athletes prefer to save their traditional running sneakers for the rainy season, Ethiopian winter, which happens during the Western world's summer months.
Besides training with and getting to know the team, the coach, and other local people involved with the runners, Marco enjoyed taking photos and putting on a slide show for the runners, friends, and family, the night before he left. He also enjoyed a farewell dinner with the whole gang. The morning of the day he left, the team and he got up early to train one last time and then the team presented him with many gifts, some of which you can see in the photos. He also donated to the local Sports and Youth Development office a computer "notebook" which the officials and team are hoping to learn and be able to use soon.
While there, Marco also got to stay at the Simien Lodge for a few nights. He already misses all of his new friends and is looking forward to a return trip as soon as possible. The runners of the Simien Mountains have won a permanent place in his heart.
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