Tolassa Elemaa, Josh Millard, and Andrew Holzschuh at the TCS NYC Marathon EXPO
Tolassa Elemaa, Josh Millard, and Andrew Holzschuh at the TCS NYC Marathon EXPO
Photo: Personal Photo

In November of 2017 when Tolassa Elema was resettled by the 探花精选 in Dallas, he dreamed of the chance to run again. Born in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, Tolassa鈥檚 standout running talent led to him being recruited to the Mugher Cement Factory Club where many of the world鈥檚 top running legends have trained. 

Soon after arriving in Dallas, he started joining 探花精选 staff on Wednesday morning runs with a local running club. Alex Laywell, an 探花精选 staff member, says 鈥淭olassa began routinely expressing a desire to compete. He would pull up races on his phone to show me what he wanted to do.鈥 In March 2018, Tolassa laced up for the  with new running gear from 探花精选 supporters. With friends, family, and 探花精选 staff cheering him on, Tolassa finished 2ndin his division. 

A Dallas-area photographer,  who photographed Tolassa during his first Half-Marathon, connected him to Josh Millard, a local marathon runner. Having successfully completed his first run in the United States, Tolassa set his sights on the . With only 6 months to train and still getting settled into his new life in Dallas, the road to NYC would not come easy. 

Determined to squeeze in runs before dawn with Josh even as he started his new job at the  of Marriott International, Tolassa started to prepare for the longest race he had ever run. On July 27th, #TeamTolassa officially launched on  and  with the release of the short film  by Holzchuh.

Almost 20 years later, Tolassa鈥檚 dream of running is finally coming true here in the United States. With the assistance of #TeamTolassa and supporters, he has continued to push through every obstacle that came his way. 

To everyone who joined #TeamTolassa and made Tolassa鈥檚 first NYC Marathon a reality, less than one year after arriving to the United States 鈥 thank you. Tolassa鈥檚 26.2 miles in New York City on November 4, 2018 was made possible by his many supporters who have contributed and .

A special thanks to  for outfitting Tolassa with new running gear,  for their assistance in Dallas and NYC, and a friend of the 探花精选 for flying Tolassa鈥檚 family out to NYC to cheer him on as he ran.