The Indianapolis junior is still adjusting to American life after coming from Eritrea.
You can't miss taking a second look at his name. And you still might struggle in pronouncing it. That said, his rivals simply call him "bigfoot."
"I don't know why (Big Foot). I only wear a size 10," said Futsum Zeinasellasie. He says to "say my name slowly and pronounce it like ‘foot some Zena Sue Lassie.' It's really not that hard."
If you think his name is difficult, his parents are Meleakesellam Zeinasellassie and Leteberhan Behre.
His name grabs plenty of attention, but it's his running ability that has many learning to say it correctly. Some simply call him a "running machine." Others refer to him as a "winning machine."
A junior at
North Central (Indianapolis), Zeinasellassie burst onto the track scene when he placed second at the Midwest Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, then second at the Foot Lockers Nationals.
The Foot Locker races were his only "losses" of the 2010 cross country season. He won his 11 other races, set four course records in the process and claimed the Indiana state cross country title for 5,000 meters.
"Futsum's undefeated regular season this year was a tremendous feat considering the number of solid great runners the state produced," said coach Rich Stover. "Over the past couple of years, Futsum has learned a tremendous amount on how to race and how to compete. He picks his battles wisely and makes sure that he knows his competition. He definitely has become a true student of the sport."
Stover added that he can't wait for Zeinasellassie's cross country senior year.
Zeinasellassie's sophomore season was almost as impressive as his junior season. The 5-foot-8, 142-pounder won nine times, finished first at state, set three course records and was fourth at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional and seventh at the Foot Locker Nationals.
In 12 races as a freshman, he won 10, and was runnerup at state. Zeinasellassie won every race until the state meet. At the start of the Indiana state championship race, another runner stepped on his shoe and gave him a flat tire. Futsum had to pull to the side and fix his shoe, costing him about 10 seconds. He eventually finished second with a 15:02 clocking, the best ever by an Indiana freshman.
"He probably would have won," says Stover. "He gave everyone a 200-meter head start and still almost pulled it out."
He has run less than 15 minutes three times with a best of 14:47. He also won the Indiana outdoor track 3,200 title as a freshman and sophomore and is a heavy favorite to win it again this spring. Despite a very strong field, he won the 2010 title by more than 10 seconds.
"I hate to lose. I like to win. I run to win," said Zeinasellassie.
But Zeinasellassie says the desire to win isn't his motivation in wanting to run fast. He wants to earn a college scholarship. He wants colleges to notice him.
Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}"My father is a priest and I don't expect any money for college," said Zeinasellassie. "For me, I want a school where I can get a degree. English is my second language, so I am looking for college(s) that will tutor me. I push myself. I want colleges to see how hard I work, how fast I run.
"I don't know what I want to study, but in America, you can become anything. Everything is offered here. I really love the life here. America is all so amazing."
Zeinasellassie moved to Indianapolis four years ago when his father became priest of a small church there. Futsum was born in Eritrea, a tiny African country north of Ethiopia that borders on the Red Sea and Sudan. Eritrea has a population of 5 million and like many African nations, is ripe with political unrest and uncertainty.
When he arrived in the United States, Zeinasellassie was a soccer player. But that sport proved costlier than his native country.
"It was unaffordable. You had to have special shoes and special uniforms and club teams wanted money to play," said Futsum. "Running was free and pretty easy. It didn't really matter what kind of shoes you had. We could afford running."
Indeed, running came easy for Zeinasellassie as his freshman year supports. But he didn't really know how to train until his older brother Bahlbi joined the family in the U.S. Bahlbi spent a year in an Ethiopian refugee camp before being allowed to leave the country in 2008.
Bahlbi, now running for Northern Arizona University, had experience running distances, and quickly began mentoring his younger brother.
"My big brother changed my running career," said Zeinasellassie. "He was my second coach. He ran in Africa. He taught me how to train and I went from running 40 miles a week as a freshman to more than 50 miles each as a sophomore. He also helped me with speed work. He changed what I did."
And as a result, Futsum's times dropped.
His best two-mile time is 9:05 and he has set a goal for a sub-8:50 for his 2011 season. His top indoor mile time is 4:18. Outdoor is 4:15. His 2011 goal is under 4:10. He has also run 1:56 for 800 meters and hopes to run 1:53 this spring.
He knows that to reach those goals, it will require training, race strategy and competition.
"There is good competition here in our state," he said. "It's up to me to make sure I do it right ... to make sure I educate myself on the track."
Other than adjusting to English as his language, Zeinasellassie says learning how to race has been an education.
"A typical race my first (freshman) year was to go out and hammer it all the way," said Futsum. "My sophomore year, I'd wait ‘til midway then pick it up. I can wait ‘til the last 400 meters and blow by everyone. I'm learning to see how I feel."
As far as being the favorite, he said "I just have to run my own race and not worry about anyone."
"My goal this year is to win the state again and take the team with me," he said. "I am trying to run for them as much as I can. I would love to see my team win."
Coach Stover simply describes Zeinasellassie as "someone very special. However, more important is that he is an outstanding young man and very humble. He has his priorities straight and is very true to his family. Even though records and fast times are in the back of his mind, they are not the things that are most important to him. He truly feels that team success is more important than his individual honors. This says a lot about his character.
"He's going to be very exciting to watch over the next few years," said Stover.
And ‘Bigfoot', trust those in the know — college coaches are noticing.
