Runners Who Read EP 5: Abdi’s World by Abdi Abdirahman

In the fifth episode of the Runners Who Read Podcast, Olivia Baker sits down with Abdi Abdirahman, author of the July 2022 book: Abdi's World. Abdi Abdirahman is a 5-time Olympian in the 10,000m and marathon. Born in Somalia, he fled the country along with his parents and 4 siblings in the midst of a civil war at just 13 years old. After spending several years in a refugee camp in Mombasa, Kenya, he immigrated to the United States through a program for Somali refugees. It wasn’t until his freshman year at Pima Community College that he would set foot on his first track but it was immediately clear that he was very talented. As a junior, he transferred to the University of Arizona where he would begin to train under Coach Dave Murray (who is still his coach to this day) and kick off a running career that has seen Abdi consistently compete at the elite level and represent the United States on the world stage for the last quarter of a century through present day.

 

In this episode, we discuss how he got his infamous "Black Cactus" nickname, the ways he continues to find fun in the sport after all this time, and the secret to his longevity in this sport at the elite level among other things.

 

Show notes:

Runners Who Read Book Club: www.atlantatrackclub.org/runners-who-read

 

Follow Abdi:

Twitter: @Abdi_runs

Instagram: @abdiruns

 

Follow Olivia

Twitter: @obaker64

Instagram: @obaker64