Gilbert Tuhabonye is one incredible man. So incredible in fact that we named Teancum after him. Anyway, he was in two magazine articles this month.
One was Runners World...
The other was Austin Fit Magazine.
19: GILBERT'S GAZELLESGilbert Tuhabonye (gilbertsgazelles.com)Sixteen years ago, Gilbert Tuhabonye could probably never imagine what was about to happen to him would later give others motivation to push forward and reach their own goals. It was late October 1993 when the war between his native Tutsi tribe and the Hutu tribe horrifically erupted at his school in Burundi. More than 100 Tutsi children and teachers were beaten and burned to death after the Hutu rampage, yet amazingly, Tuhabonye survived only after being buried by the corpses of his classmates. He ran away from the massacre on charred feet into a new life. After this traumatizing experience, Tuhabonye never really thought of himself as a pillar of inspiration, let alone a running coach. But after he won the 2002 Capital of Texas 10K, three women — Maeve Magner, Leslie Asaka and Anjeline Gonzales — approached him to help in improve their race times. As time passed, Tuhabonye’s rapidly expanding running group was appropriately dubbed Gilbert’s Gazelles by Paul Carrozza of RunTex. In the last seven years, Gilbert has exploded into a local celebrity of sorts, instantly recognized by almost anyone in the running community. Yet he’s managed to keep an even keel on his business, bringing in only two other coaches since that time. He ensures they care for his runners just as much as he does. Like a family. As Tuhabonye puts it, “You become part of the family, once you join the Gazelles.”
No comments:
Post a Comment