When everyone keeps track of their physical activity with smartwatches, heart rate monitors, trackers and can imagine themselves as professional athletes living in a laboratory, it is pleasant to read a book like that of Michael Crawley, Running above the cloudswhich focuses on the inherently natural nature of sport and emphasizes that a classy performance can be achieved without any kind of data accumulation, while the playfulness, camaraderie and even superstitions of running remain.
Crawley from Scotland was considered a good runner, but then gave up his career as an elite athlete and turned to anthropology. He linked running and science in Ethiopia, where he studied the communities of local runners. He chose integration as the most effective research method, joined several running groups in Addis Ababa, spent 15 months with the runners as long as possible, and learned the local language, Amharic, so as to being able to interview them easily even at the most unexpected moments. Crawley first wrote a doctorate on what he experienced there, and then an exciting book was born out of him looking for him as a side effect.
Long distance running has been dominated for several decades by two East African countries, Kenya and Ethiopia, and often competes in its own Újpest-Fradija. So far Kenya has been somewhat more focused on the running map. It has become common for many Europeans and Americans to travel to one of the high altitude training centers in Kenya to become the most successful runners by learning the methods and lifestyle there. Racing life in Ethiopia is also not a completely enclosed environment, but until now we have been able to glimpse the culture there less often.
Like football elsewhere, running is a way to stand out in Ethiopia. Thousands of professional or aspiring runners hit the streets every day. By winning a competition with a good prize pool, you can build a whole life for yourself, no wonder many people try to join one of the sponsored teams, from where these dreams can be realized.
Crawley has also hit clubs like this and tried to do the same grueling training work they did. This proved impossible for several reasons. It is no coincidence that the book received the Running above the clouds title, as Addis Ababa itself is located at 2,300-2,400 meters above sea level, which means that there is already less oxygen, but the locals go much higher to train. Sometimes very consciously, sometimes ad hoc, they choose forests that can be reached by long bus trips from the capital, dirt roads and sometimes paved roads. They experience the physiological effects of altitude, but they do not speak of blood values, but of good or pleasant air. Above 3,000 meters, for many, even a walk is breathless, not to mention a hard running pace. Crawley often struggled with lack of oxygen, as his companions easily left him behind.
However, Ethiopians generally don’t like to leave anyone behind. Their basic ideal is that you have to run in a team, because that’s the only way to improve.
According to one of their types of training, they stand in a row of geese and then climb a steep slope of a mountain. The first runner always dictates the direction, often drawing unexpected turns and turns, not following a well-trodden path through the trees. In addition to playfulness, the twist gives the weakest the opportunity to hit the curves, so they move along with the others.
They also attach particular importance to following in the footsteps of the other. On the one hand they learn rhythm, which they think is a good weapon even in competitions, and on the other – and here we see a kind of magic – there is a continuous flow of energy between the runners, so, for example, who leading the line also bears the weight of others. Although they firmly believe in the work they do, according to their beliefs they can gain strength from their surroundings, trees, soil and their peers, but this strength can also be stolen. Therefore, in case of sudden collapses, holy water is sometimes used as a remedy.
Many kinds of superstitions are intertwined in the life of runners and can explain every moment of their life in a childish and very high philosophical way at the same time. They are also not bothered by the fact that they often contradict each other. They can easily explain why you should train as much as possible and why it is not good to train too much. The latter, for example, is once again in conflict with the spirit world.
Crawley doesn’t want to clear up these contradictions. Though he sometimes introduces a bit of science, he remains all the way into the role of observer, so the reader also has to contend with the hole-in-the-wall, but at the same time harmonious worldview of the runners, mixed with weird humor. While reading, you may unwittingly think about the old classic, Haile Gebrselassie’s mysterious and wise smile. Despite the training and the difficulties of their life, they are somehow constantly surrounded by serenity, which is also transmitted to us while reading.
Although the training system of the Ethiopians can be somewhat compared to modern sports science, they also approach running quite intuitively. They believe they learn not from the coaches, but from each other. Naturally, the foundation was laid by a Swedish-Finnish coach, Onni Niskanen, some 75 years ago. Some of them already use modern devices, but as if they wanted to shame the technology on purpose, they repeatedly use the watch, which also records the distance, to go as slowly as possible in a given time.
They run according to their clock and their internal laws.
Photo: Peter Sz. Németh / Telex
Crawley also goes to a few races with his Ethiopian teammates, and even when it comes to prize money, we don’t know much about the fate of those among the thousands of active runners who never make it big, even if there is talk of derailed careers. in the media. It also inexplicably avoids the issue of doping, which today is intertwined with elite sports, and even if it is not included in Ethiopian competitive sports, it must inevitably be a topic of conversation. Another open question remains how women’s running is accepted in Ethiopia and to what extent the worldview and training methods of a group of female runners differ from those of men.
Despite the omitted arguments, the reader is not left with such a great sense of absence. Crawley sets a good pace and guides us through exciting routes through the history, gastronomy, racing grounds and beliefs of Ethiopia, even a non-runner can find pleasure in reading. And those who run will surely want to avoid the trees on the soft forest floor, seemingly aimless.
Michael Crawley: Running above the clouds
The mysterious world of Ethiopian running sports
Park book publishing
HUF 3999
