By Chris Chavez
December 5, 2024
Abbabiya Simbassa took many American track and field fans by surprise on Sunday morning when they awoke to results from the Valencia Marathon and saw that the 31-year-old notched a personal best by nearly four minutes to run 2:06:53. The performance was good for 17th place in the race but moved him to No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list.
Only Khalid Khannouchi (2:05:38), Galen Rupp (2:06:07) and Ryan Hall (2:06:17) have run faster.
Back in 2022, we paid a visit to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a video featuring Simbassa and also recorded a podcast episode detailing his career path from being born in Ethiopia, moving to the United States in 2007 and then going through the school system. He started running in high school in Minnesota and then continued his development at Iowa Central Community College before transferring to Oklahoma.
After graduating, he was coached by Scott Simmons in Colorado Springs before signing a pro contract with Under Armour to be part of the Dark Sky Distance Project with coach Stephen Haas. In 2023, Simbassa started working with Hall as his coach. The partnership lasted until this summer before Hall decided to step back from coaching. Simbassa worked with Ian Carter (a McKirdy Trained coach, who also was coached by Hall) for the Valencia Marathon build-up.
CITIUS MAG spoke with Simbassa on Thursday afternoon to get details on how the performance came about. The following has been edited lightly for clarity and space.
What Happened At The U.S. Olympic Trials Where He Finished 11th In 2:12:21
“Marathon Trials was a big experience for me because it was my second marathon. Going into the race, I was in good shape and I was ready to run. I had done everything in my power from training. I made a lot of mistakes on my side. I didn’t go with the leaders because of the weather. Everyone was talking like, ‘Those guys are going to die. They’re going to come back.’
That’s not what happened. By the time I reacted, it was too late. The race doesn’t happen from the back. If you want to make the team, you’ve got to be in the front. I learned that the hard way. It sucks but now I have the experience and now I’m using that for my next marathon.”
Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
How Did He Feel About His Marathon Potential After His 2:10:34 Debut In Prague Last Year
“I always believe the way I run and my strength is in the longer distance. Ryan and I decided that he didn’t want me to debut at the Trials.
For me, going to Prague, I went to run. There was no time. Just go and compete. I ended up running 2:10. I was like, ‘OK. The marathon is fun because I didn’t hit “the wall.”’ They say when you get to 30K, that’s when things start hurting. I was like, ‘When is this going to start hurting?’ It did but that’s just how my first marathon started. Since then, I enjoy the marathon process and the daily process.
What Does He Get Out Of Racing Regularly On The USATF Road Racing Circuit?
2024 results: 6th place in 22:58 at the USATF 8K Championships in Kingsport (TN) on July 20th; 3rd place in 22:58 at the USATF 20K Championships in New Haven (CT) on Sept. 2; 1st place in 28:18 at the USATF 10K Championships in Northport (NY); 9th place in 13:57 at the USATF 5K Championships in New York City
“The race organizers are great people and I’ve made great relationships with everybody. When they invite me, I expect to go to the race. I also don’t want to just keep training. I’d rather mix it up. For like an 8K, I might not win but hey I might be like top 5! Why not?
[At the 20K,] Hillary (Bor) took it out fast. For me, I was still building up for the marathon. I didn’t cut mileage that week. Even for the 10K championships week, I didn’t cut it. For me, these races are like hard workouts. Go race and I’ll get something out of it even if I don’t win it.
Racing, for me, is just fun. Marathon training is not an easy thing. You just put up mileage week after week. Breaking that up helps a lot.”
Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
How Ryan Hall Broke The News About Stepping Away From Coaching
“Ryan told us after the Olympic marathon. He sent an email out to everybody. It’s funny because I thought he sent it just to me and I was like, ‘Oh! What did I do?’ I respect his decision. It’s nothing against Ryan. He wanted to do what was best for his family and what made him happy. We’re still good friends. He still gives me advice. He’s still my mentor. Every four years people make decisions and I think he decided at the right time.”
The Decision To Work With Ian Carter
Ian used to be coached by Ryan so we used to be teammates. When Ryan wasn’t in town, Ian was in charge of workouts. When Ian was around, I listened and observed him. I just listen to what he says. I liked it. Ryan and I had the plan to do Valencia. I didn’t want to go to somebody else and get used to their training. I asked Ian, ‘What do you think? Is there any way you can help me?’ Then, he actually sent me the workouts and I was like, ‘Oh wow!’ I just bought into it, did the work and the rest was history.
Why Valencia?
“I was trying to do Chicago. I couldn’t get into Chicago. 2:10 isn’t going to get you into Chicago because everyone wants to do Chicago. With Valencia I had a good relationship with the race organizers there because I had done the half marathon twice. I told my agent Merhawi Keflezighi, ‘Maybe let’s see if I can get into Valencia?’ Marc Roig (the elite athlete coordinator) got back to him and said, ‘The last pace group is going to be 2:06:30. Is Biya OK with that?” I guess? I’m trying to get into the race. I don’t know! I don’t know if I can run that time!? That’s how we planned it.
What Were His Fitness Expectations Going Into The Race?
“To be honest with you, I was hoping to find a group that was going 2:08 or 2:07 because Valencia is huge. They have more than 200 (people) in the pro field they’re hosting. Somebody has to be out there who is going to run 2:08.
I just got back to work. With the workouts, we didn’t crush it but we got close to the 2:06:30 pace. Workouts and long runs went well.
Even going there, I wasn’t planning on running with the 2:06:30 group. I was asking around like, ‘What are you running?’ I remember talking to Andy Buchanan from Australia and asking him, ‘What are you planning to run?’ He said, ‘2:07:30.’ Maybe we would have other guys join us. The night before he tells me that he’s running with the 2:06:30 group. OK. I’m going with that too.
I knew my training was going well. I felt prepared. You just don’t know. It’s a marathon. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. I ended up going with the group.
How The Race Played Out
“I was at the back of the group. If they went went 2:58 or 2:59 per kilometer, I was planning to stick to 3:00 per kilometer. I was way back. They were probably like 50 meters ahead of me. I stuck to that plan.
We came through the half and I looked at my watch and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was so nervous. I still had the confidence but at the same time, I was nervous. It was like 25 seconds faster than they planned to go. It was like 62:50 (Official split: 62:47) and it was supposed to be like 63:15 or something like that. I was like, ‘Well, I’m here. I might as well commit.’ I ended up holding on well until the last 5K when (Edward) Cheserek and a couple of the other guys started running quicker.
I decided to stay put and stick to my goal and get to 40K in 2:00. I won that. (Split 2:00:03) For the last 2K, I was like, ‘You gotta go, man!’
I had Andy with me until he pulled away at 40K.”
What Does This Do For His Own Marathon Goals And Aspirations?
“I’m still new to the marathon. I’ve run 2:06. Doesn’t mean I know everything about it. I’m still learning. It’s a process. I don’t want to jump the process. I want to go through the process and be the best athlete I can be. The confidence is high now. I know what it takes to get there (in regards to) the training and what you have to do. It’s all about the little things…The marathon is about patience.
Other factors that may have contributed to this breakout: The Shoes?
“Under Armour just built a new shoe that Sharon (Lokedi) ran with in New York. [Note: It’s called the Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 and is expected to arrive in 2026.] I haven’t trained with the shoe because they didn’t have my size. [Note: Simbassa is a size 11.] They had size 11.5, which is the co-founder’s size. Will (Leer) has been great to me and found a way to get me a pair of those shoes. I only did one workout where I ran 2K on the track and I decided I was going to save them and I was not going to run the whole workout in those shoes. They ended up being a great shoe and I was happy with it.
Everything just panned out the way I wanted it. I don’t know a lot about the shoe but they gave it to me. It’s a good shoe. Sharon wore the shoes so I’m going to wear the shoes. I didn’t think it would change everything. It’s all about confidence and belief. I believe in my training and I put a lot of work in.
Other factors that may have contributed to this breakout: Fueling?
“My fueling was great. I didn’t have any problems. I did miss the first 5K. I think somebody took it. One guy ended up giving me his drink so he shared it with me. At the 5K, I didn’t need that much. I just wanted to have a little bit of it. For the second one, I wanted to make sure I got my bottles. I didn’t miss any (after that). Took a lot of gels. They set it up really well.”
What’s Next?
“I just want to enjoy the break now. I don’t know what my schedule will be for next year. That’s something I need to sit down and talk to my mentors and my circle about to find what makes sense and what I’m excited for. For the marathon, you have to be excited about it. I don’t just want to go do it because somebody else is doing it. I have to be excited. It has to come from my heart. That’s something I’m thinking about right now. It’s a process. I’m still excited about this.”
Listen to the full episode with Biya Simbassa on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.
Time stamps:
- 3:19 - Reflections coming off the Valencia Marathon
- 5:12 - Processing the Olympic Marathon Trials
- 6:59 - Thoughts on whether he could’ve made the Olympic team
- 8:17 - When he knew the marathon was his event
- 11:15 - Feelings after not making Olympic team
- 13:00 - Why he races so often
- 17:14 - Thoughts on Ryan Hall stepping away as his coach
- 18:27 - Ian Carter becoming his new coach
- 19:42 - Why he landed on racing Valencia
- 20:39 - Goals and expectations heading into Valencia
- 23:55 - How he stayed composed after the halfway split
- 27:12 - Valencia course + atmosphere
- 30:13 - Shoe choice for the race
- 32:00 - Fueling throughout the race
- 33:44 - Plans for what’s next
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
