© 2008 Ed Bagley

They ran the 112th Boston Marathon Monday (4-21-08). The triumph was that Robert Cheruiyot (try to say something close to Cherry-ott) of Kenya won his 4th Boston Marathon. The tragedy was that America hardly noticed.

Cheruiyot won the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 45 seconds. He ran alone for the last several miles. Cheruiyot won the Boston Marathon in 2003, set the course record while winning in 2006, and won in 2007, making this year’s victory his 3rd straight and 4th in 6 years.

Excuse me while I inhale deeply due to boredom.

Two guys from Morocco finished 2nd and 3rd and two guys from Ethiopia finished 4th and 5thall of them have unpronounceable names. Imagine a Nike ad saying, “Run to Victory with Nike. Like Bouramdane, Boumlili, Asfaw and Adillo do!” Notice how American it sounds, and appreciate how difficult it can be to market foreign runners with foreign names in America.

No one seems to have the clarity to recognize it or nerve to say it so let me be the first: national track meets and famous marathons in America have sunk to a new low in interest because America cannot seem to produce American-born runners who can currently win signature events.

This is the short evolution of the oldest continuously running marathon in history: American Clarence DeMar won his 1st Boston Marathon in 1911 and his 7th in 1930. American Bill Rogers won his 1st in 1975 and his 4th in 1980.

A KenyanIbrahim Husseinwon in 1991and this year Robert Cheruiyot won. In between Hussein and Cheruiyot, Kenyans have won the race 14 times in 16 years and 16 times in 18 years, losing only to a South Korean in 2001 and an Ethiopian in 2005.

This year, when an American finished 10th, it was called a miracle in some running circles. Americans have not done squat in recent years.

Among 32 elite runners previewed as possible winners in this year’s competition, not a single American was even mentioned as a possible winner in our wildest imagination. More than 25,000 runners qualified for this year’s run and 98% finished.

If you are wondering, an EthiopianDire Tune (I swear I did not make her name up)won the women’s Boston Marathon. The first 5 women finishers were from anywhere but America.

Cheruiyot picked up $150,000 (the most ever) in prize money. Cheruiyot is a super guy and a world class runner. His main concern Monday was running 2 hours, 7 minutes and change because he wants to represent his countryKenyain this fall’s 2008 Olympic Games.

Just because he won in Boston does not mean he will be part of the 3-man Kenyan team. Four other Kenyans have run UNDER 2:07 this year in major competition. Yikes! This just shows you how dominate the Kenyans are in worldwide marathon competition. Interestingly enough, no Kenyan has yet won gold in the Olympic games even though it is their specialty.

Unfortunately for Cheruiyot and track and field and running in America, the foreign dominance in winning here has created a marketing nightmare. It is flat out difficult, nay impossible, to market world-class foreign athletes on American soil, no matter how much they win or how many records they set. Nobody in America seems to care.

I found the USA Today coverage of the Boston Marathon buried on page 7 in the Sports Section Monday. There was frankly 6 pages of more interesting sports news to read than some foreigner winning the Boston Marathon again.

There are no major track meets on prime time television anymore, only the Olympics gets major coverage. The venues that used to draw thousands of fans now sit empty by comparison. There is little, if any, coverage. Big time sponsors run the other direction when meet directors come calling.

It happens because America cannot seem to produce runners anymore that are worth a crap. They just are not competitive and cannot win events like the Boston Marathon if their life depended upon it.

Do not blame the foreign runners who once were poverty stricken and then found a way to win in America and go back home like a new-found millionaire. The foreign runners were hungry. Making a living in America is easy. We do not seem to have any would be runners left who are hungry enough to train harder and smarter and beat the foreign runners.

We also do not seem to have a coach in America who can motivate our runners to get up off of dead center and do something spectacular. There is currently not a runner in America that can handle heavy marketing and promotion because there is no one out there that can deliver when it counts.

The fact that Americans think they cannot beat Kenyans is rubbish. They once thought that it was impossible to run a mile under 4 minutes too. Kenyans BELIEVE they can win; Americans do not think they can win. I just want to get up and slap some sense into our American runners and coaches.

We did not become the greatest nation in the world because we had our eye on second place, or because we wanted to make a big deal out of finishing in the Top 10 at Boston.

I really think this is not about raw talent. We must have at least a dozen talented runners among 300 million people. I think our lack of world-class American runners is more about a lack of desire and determination. The marketing problem is not going away, and the fans and sponsors are not going to come back big time until America produces American-born runners who can win against the best the world has to offer.

As a lifelong runner and one who enjoys running for running’s sake, I am distraught that our runners have become such colossal failures on the world scene.

We often believe that people that live bad character life die early, yet when a good person dies we say that the good ones are soon taken from us. At lunch time I saw a lady that used to trouble her parents while I was at high school with her. She used to sneak out of class to meet old man outside the school gate. Late in the after school you’d find her kissing man on the road side. With this belief, we thought she would meet her sooner than most of us. Surprisingly, some of the ones we thought were good ones are late and no definition can be given except for that it is a call of nature.

Lesson

In our culture, we believe that when you dig a hole to trap someone else, you eventually find yourself in the same hole you dug. Lifetime is not limited to what people think, say or do, yet it is limited. Only God can determines one’s living days and while you do live, make sure you optimize your time. Some say that you should live as if you shall die today and plan as if you shall live forever. That is why investing is a wise decision. There could be risks involved as stated in the article ‘Is Real Estate the Ultimate?’ but the future belongs to those that can take risks.

Today the world is indeed a global village. You can invest from wherever you are to any economy of your choice. Today investments can also be done online, where no human intervention may influence the results. Like all other businesses, the amount you get as a reward depends on the effort you put into it. While you live, you can reap from your toil relative to your contribution.

Endnote

When you die, there wont be any opportunities to try out your dreams. I have tried it online and found some money makers that have worked well for me, which I would recommend. You can try it too. Discover your potential and work towards unlashing it before you have chance to do so.

Russian dates

When you buy something as significant and timeless as a diamond, for any occasion, it makes sense that you would like to know the history of that valuable memento.

In the late 1990′s, the world became aware of the existence of “conflict diamonds,” jewels that have been used to fund insurgent or invading army’s war efforts.

Today, over 99% of the world’s diamond supply has been verified to be completely conflict free, and reputable retailers and suppliers of diamonds the world over have embraced a policy never to support the countries involved in the diamond trade that still engage in these practices. Still, retailers such as Spence Diamonds see the value in educating their customers and staff on the issue of conflict diamonds, to better understand the importance and the process of diamonds that are procured through fair trade.

In 2000, a joint initiative supported by the United Nations General Assembly created the Kimberly Process, an international certification regimen that aims to put an end to illegally traded diamonds. Today, 69 countries are legally bound by the rules of this strict and thorough process.

Any trade of diamonds between these 69 countries (which includes Canada, the U.S., Belgium and many of the African countries involved in the trade of diamonds) must adhere to these guidelines:

Each participating country must have laws in place that mandate the Kimberly Process

Any shipment of diamonds must be inspected to ensure that each shipment adheres to the guidelines

They must then be shipped in tamper-proof containers

They must be accompanied by a uniquely numbered, Government validated Kimberly Process certificate

Shipments must only be made to participating countries in the Kimberly Process

Each diamond, when sold by a retailer must be accompanied by the following warranty statement:

“The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The undersigned hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds.”

In a very short time, the Kimberly Process has had a profound effect. In the six years since its creation, the Kimberly Process has reduced the trade of conflict diamonds, from 4% to less than 1% of the entire diamond industry.

Retailers like Spence Diamonds have always maintained a strict policy about the origin of their diamonds. The diamonds in Spence stores come from large, reputable diamond suppliers who ensure that the diamonds originated from Kimberly Process compliant countries such as Belgium and Canada. As a major centre for the trade of diamonds, Belgium has always had a system for diamond verification, even previous to the creation of the Kimberly Process. Today, Belgian diamond wholesalers employ one of the strictest levels of security when it comes to the trade of diamonds, according to the U.N.

All of the diamonds purchased for Spence Diamonds have been certified as conflict free.

Foreign girls

African Art has something very special about it. African art has not changed dramatically from the Stone Age till today and this shows in the traditional designs of every type of art, be it African masks, African fabrics, African musical instruments, African ladies Handbags, African carvings and in fact all manner of African art and crafts.

It is not that symbolic African arts and crafts are only desirable in Africa; this art form has a following worldwide. Art appreciators understand that the creation of African masks and African musical instruments have a specific legacy. Methods for the creation of these items of an artistic nature have been passed down by word of mouth from father to son and mother to daughter for eons. The principle for the creation of these pieces has been for spiritual as well as practical purposes.

Traditional African fabrics are generally created using the batik method; this essentially means that the fabrics have been printed with designs using a hand dying method. Making the fabrics unique as well as individual, much more in the line of African arts and crafts than the machine woven or dyed cloth that is prevalent in western societies.

The creation of African Masks dates way back into history and some have been know to have been created further back in time than the Paleolithic era. Generally created from wood, African masks are also manufactured using leather, metal and fabric. They are highly prized and sought after today as art pieces but the original intention for them was for ceremonial purposes. The African mask traditionally represents a god or spirit and the wearer was believed to be possessed by the spirit represented by the mask.

While African ladies handbags might be believed by some to be a more contemporary art form, they have in fact a very rich history. Although more traditionally worn by males. Generally worn hidden under clothing to contain the proceeds of an unattainable task in order to win the heart of their beloved. A Mossi (Burkina Fasso) proverb even says “What is left in the bag is superior to what has been taken away”

Interestingly African musical instruments are also much sought after by art collectors and musicians alike. Even the banjo, thought to be a western instrument is of African historical origin and hand drumming is very specific throughout the entire continent of Africa as a means to support ritual dance. Many African cultures have used African musical instruments to ward off evil spirits. African music is seen as being dynamic and very functional, unlike western music that is designed to merely dance or listen to.

African Carvings are very pertinent to African culture and takes the form of many varieties of them, the most common themes in African carving of people are a couple, a woman and child, males with a weapon or animal and a stranger or outsider. African Carving also takes the shape of common household utensils. Bowls may be carved from stone or wood. The traditional Zulu meat or nyama bowl is carved from wood.

Essentially African arts and crafts have a rich cultural history and are widely sought after by collectors and art appreciators throughout the world.

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