Hobbies

Avid long-distance runner….

Walking and running have always been a part of Leo Murembya’s life. 

Growing up in a remote village in Rwanda, Leo’s day started with a two-mile walk early in the morning to fetch water at the public village fountain for his family. Then, another four-mile round trip to the local primary school.

 At age twelve, Leo moved to Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, to attend a boarding school, some 70 miles from home. While preparing to go back home for his first Christmas break, someone stole his bus money. So, he had to walk the 70 miles home with his suitcase on his head, a feat which took about 15 hours.

 It is then that he realized that walking/running was in his DNA.

This year, he has completed two long-distance races with plans for another in the fall.

 On June 4, Leo, who is the manager of the Data Analysis and Reporting section of the Finance Division and an Assistant Prof of Economics at Michigan State, ran the Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon. His time was 9:17 per mile. That bested his time in the Amway River Run 25K (15.55 miles) in Grand Rapids, where his mile time was 9:52.

 “I have one more race to run in the fall, the Capital City River Run here in Lansing, to be back at my pre-pandemic regular running season,” Leo said.

 Leo did not participate in competitive races until he came to the United States in the early 1990s and met a girl in graduate school who was a runner and whom he later married in early 2000.

 “I guess my male ego kicked in, and I wanted to impress her? I don’t know. All I know is that I started competing in several races and have never stopped since,” he said.

 Leo has run the Detroit and Chicago marathons, the Crim 10-mile race in Flint, the Keweenaw half-marathon trail run, and others.

 To prepare, Leo’s training schedule includes a couple of short runs of about six miles each during the week and a long run (13-15 miles) on the weekend.