FROM BEING A TIMID GYM USER TO COMPLETING MARATHON ON 7 CONTINENTS | READ TUEDON OMATSOLA MORGAN’S INSPIRING STORY OF HARDWORK & DETERMINATION

Tuedon (Tee) Omatsola Morgan is British with Nigerian parents, and has been living in Qatar for the past 10 years. She has been married for 21 years and is the mother of four sons aged 19, 17, 15 and 7.

In 2007 following the birth of her youngest son, she tipped the scale at 121kg/266 pounds and wore a UK size 26. She was also struggling with her health and living with constant pain in her legs due to her excess weight.

Having previously weighed 63 kg, this was a big wakeup call for her. The result was that she vowed to change her sedentary lifestyle as well as her relationship with food.

Even though she was embarrassed by her size, she timidly entered a gym in Doha for the first time and swore to herself that her commitment was real and long term.

When she started out, there was no one to encourage her so she had to encourage herself in the pursuit of her goal. It was challenging at first but she was not to be dissuaded.

She also found that she was not alone in the struggle to lose weight. That same year, Tee joined the Doha Bay Running Club where she discovered the world of long distance running and found a new love, the pavement. Here, she received the “Most Determined Newcomer” Award during her first year of running.

In three short years she has managed to accomplish such amazing feats and this year the club named her “The Greatest Achiever” and rightfully so.

Shortly after she started running, she decided that she would run a marathon (42.2 km). She discussed her goal with a fellow runner and he practically laughed at her. He asked her if she knew the distance of a marathon and condescendingly let her know that he had been running for 10 years and had not run a marathon.

She just shrugged and let him know, “You’re not me. I’m Tee, a child of God and I will run a marathon. Just watch me!”

Training for a marathon is like taking on a second full-time job but she was unfazed by the requirements and she committed to putting in the work to make it happen.

By the end of the year, she was standing at the start line of the Johnson Arabia Dubai Creek Striders Half Marathon ready to make her dream come true. A mere seven weeks later in January 2012, she was back in Dubai towing the start line of the Chartered Dubai City Marathon. She finished in the very respectable time of 4:40:53.

While Tee could have been satisfied with her accomplishment of successfully completing both a half marathon and a marathon that was far from the case.

She got the wild idea that she would become the face of Nigeria in long distance running and set her sights on the prestigious London Marathon.

For most runners, even those who have been running for decades, the very thought of running the London Marathon would have been a pipe dream.

Since Tee is not “most runners”, true to her Wonder Woman ways, in April of 2012 she laced up her trainers and joined approximately 37,000 runners at the start line of this dream race and crossed the finish line with a time of 5:04.

Certainly that should have been enough but of course it wasn’t. Six months later she lined up half way around the world in Chicago with another 37,000 runners to take on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

In less than one year, Tee accomplished what most lifelong runners can barely dare to dream about; she had completed two of the most prestigious races in the marathon world. London and Chicago are part of the group of six races which bear the esteemed title of World Majors.

The other races are Boston, New York, Berlin and Tokyo. Since she was one third of the way to completing the whole series, it came as no surprise to anyone who knows her that her dream had grown from completing one marathon to completing the World Majors.

Yes, the idea was wild and far-fetched but for someone with Tee’s faith, grit and commitment, it was not impossible.

In February 2013 she finished the Tokyo Marathon with a personal best time of 4:20:00 which brought her even closer to her World Majors goal.

She really doesn’t like to push her body that hard because of a slight disability she carries in one of her legs, which requires a special running shoe.

It was while running the Tokyo Marathon that she met fellow runner, Abisoye Adekamnbi. They discussed the idea of running a marathon on each of the seven continents. Ultimately, they became the first Nigerians and fifth Black runners in the world to accomplish this.

Her next challenge was to tackle the Holy Grail of distance running, the Boston Marathon. This race is almost every long distance runner’s dream and for about 90% it remains a dream. Unlike its lottery-based counterparts, it is the only race in the series that is exclusively the domain of time qualifiers (even among the amateur runners) with a small amount of slots reserved for charity runners. As if by some miracle, Tee secured a slot via PHAB Kids. http://www.phabkids.co.uk/

On April 15, 2013 – a day that was soon to become one for the history books – surrounded by 23,000 runners, she stepped up the start line in Hopkinson. Thankfully, she was able to cross the finish line before the unfortunate bombings occurred. She was now half way to completing the World Majors. By November 2013, with the completion of the New York City Marathon, she would accomplish this demanding feat and don a new identity as a runner, World Majors Finisher.

If it were anyone else, that would have been the pinnacle of their running career but by now we are clear that Tee is in a league of her own.

In her mind, if completing the World Majors is considered a big deal, then she wanted to go above and beyond that.

She managed to go way beyond by completing a marathon on all seven continents thereby securing a spot amongst other runners who have accomplished this outstanding achievement.

Source – twooceansmarathon.org.za

BEST ASIAN ATHLETE: NIGERIA’S NEGLIGENCE DROVE ME TO QATAR

Femi Ogunode, the Nigeria born athlete who currently represents Qatar and won the best Asian athlete award in 2015, says Nigeria’s unfair treatment drove him to become a Qatari athlete.

Ogunode made his international debut for Qatar at the 2010 Asian Games and won a 100 meters/400 meters double.

He won a career double at the Asian Games in 2014, this time in the 100 metres/200 metres, and set an Asian record of 9.93 seconds for the former event.

In an interview with TheCable, Ogunode talked about why he decided to run for Qatar and not his country of birth — Nigeria.

“I was in Nigeria before I came to Qatar. You know that I am from Ondo State and I represented the state for sometime. And I also ran for University of Ibadan where I qualified for the Olympics then,” he said.

“Along the line so many things went down. Lots of politics were played. I was not taken to the Olympics. In athletics, politics is involved. In Nigeria, you might have the fastest time, they don’t care. They will just bring in their own athletes.

“That was when I decided to pursue my dream and left Nigeria for Qatar.”

OGUNODE: I WILL NEVER RUN FOR NIGERIA AGAIN

“To be candid with you, it is not possible again because right now I am dedicated to Qatar. When my country of birth cannot be fair to me, they never appreciated what I have.

“No matter how fast you are, you need to train hard, you need good facilities and all that will enhance your speed. All that were never available for me while in Nigeria.

“But when I got to Qatar they took care of me, I have all facilities I need to keep performing well at my disposal. Trust me I can never run for Nigeria again. I am happy where I am here right now.

ON HIS TWO YEAR BAN FOR THE USE OF CLENBUTEROL

“It was just like Sharapova, the tennis athlete. I used a particular drug that has nothing to do with my performance on the track. I didn’t know.

“Just like for instance when you want to run sometimes you might just take lemon juice and water, whether distilled or some other kind of water but they are still water. But when you are tested and find some substances in your system they will still term it as drugs.

“So, I was just very unfortunate and there was nothing I could do. So, I just went out training without running. But happy to be back”

WINNING THE ASIAN BEST ATHLETE AWARD IN OCTOBER 2015

“It feel so great to have won the best Asian athlete award in the US last year. As an athlete you know what it means to win awards. It means hard work pays in getting whatever medal or award you win.

“It was not easy because I was just training for about a year or so without running in any tournament. So, it was hard work that paid off.”

OGUNODE BELIEVES USAIN BOLT IS BEATABLE 

“First and foremost, Usain Bolt is an athlete that I respect a lot in this industry and he has made a name for himself too. Every athlete in the industry is looking up to him, wanting to be like him.

“That does not make him unbeatable when it comes to athletics. Especially when you are in form. Anything can happen. So, anything is possible.”

Ogunode moved to Qatar in October 2009 and began international competition the following year. He won the 100 meters and 200 at the West Asian Championships and was entered into the 2010 Asian Games.

At the Games in Guangzhou he took two gold medals, winning over 200 m and 400 meters with personal bests of 20.43 seconds and 45.12 seconds, respectively.

This made him only the second athlete in games history to have won both events at the same competition – Milkha Singh first achieved this at the 1958 Asian Games.

He follows in the footsteps of Samuel Francis, another Nigerian sprinter who transferred to compete for Qatar.

The Ondo-born athlete became the Asian champion in 200 metres, at Kobe, Japan. He equalled the Championships record (20.41 s) en route to gold.

He then did even better at the World Military Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he completed a 100 metres and 200 metres double. He set new championship marks over both distances (10.07 and 20.46).

Ogunode served a two-year ban lasting until January 2014 for the use of the prohibited substance Clenbuterol. In September 2014 he won the 100 m event at the Asian Games setting a new Asian record at 9.93 seconds. He also won the 200 metres gold at Incheon.

He set a further Asian record at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships by winning the 100 metres in 9.91 seconds, after breaking the championship record with a run of 9.97 seconds in the semi-finals.

Source: TheCable

7 WRONG PEOPLE TO AVOID WHEN STARTING A BUSINESS

By Femi Johnson

Starting a business is one of the most challenging things you can do but indeed, a life changing decision. And one of the hardest parts is that most people won't understand why you're working so hard, especially when you're not making enough money compared to the efforts you are investing.

They also won't understand why you're spending so much time away from them. 

Some of these people may even resent you for starting a business. They'll try to drag you down emotionally, tell you your business idea is silly and impossible or even try to sabotage your efforts. You may think that explaining yourself to these people will make things better. But in most cases, explanations won't help. 

The best strategy for dealing with negative people you come up against when starting a business is to avoid them completely. 

Study has shown that ignoring negative people increased the ignorer’s intelligence and productivity. The researchers examined 120 participants who had been asked to either talk with or ignore people who, in turn, had been instructed to either be friendly or offensive to the participants. 

After four minutes of interaction, each participant was given a thought exercise that required good concentration. The participants who had ignored the negative people performed better on the thought exercises than those who had engaged with the negative people. 

The researchers therefore concluded that avoiding negative people during adverse social interactions conserves mental resources.

Avoiding negative people, then, seems critical to staying smart and productive while starting a business. If you want your startup to be successful, make sure you avoid the following seven toxic people: 

The person who tells you you have only one choice. 

You never have only one choice. When someone gives you an ultimatum and tries to make you choose between only two things -- them or your business -- take a step back.

Offering a single choice to someone who actually has many choices is known as Hobson’s choice. Thomas Hobson was a stable owner in Cambridge who told his customers they could choose to either take the horse in the stall nearest the door or take none at all. (Of course, those customers also had the option of going somewhere else to get a horse, take more than one horse, steal a horse and so on.)

The “or” was an illusion, however. Realize that “or” is a power play: You always have more than two options. The next time someone gives you an “or,” say "no thanks," you’ll take both. Turn “or” into “and.”

Or, flatly refuse this toxic person and turn your focus back to your business.

The person who tries to make you believe you need him or her to be successful.

You don’t need someone else to be successful. Networking and surrounding yourself with positive people is a force multiplier in any venture, but the notion that you need other people to be successful is unhealthy. It opens the door to people using you for their own private gain. Need then quickly turns into neediness, which quickly turns into full-blown dependency.

So, be wary of negative people who try to make you feel like you can’t do something on your own. If someone starts withholding support from you unless you do what's demanded, ditch that person. Cut the cord and find someone else who will support you and your business efforts without any ulterior motives or strings attached.

The person who tries to make you feel that it’s your duty to take care of them.

You are not responsible for other people’s happiness. When grown men and grown women try to make you feel guilty for not spending time with them or not doing what they want, it’s simply a power play. They want to control you.

If you act as a crutch for people like this long enough, your mind will become conditioned to sacrificial thinking. You’ll start to believe that you have to sacrifice your happiness for others to be happy -- that you have to sacrifice your success for others to be successful. But this is Hobson’s choice all over again.

Remember, you can have both. You and other people can be happy and successful at the same time. The problem is that some people don’t want to be happy and some people are too lazy to be successful. You’re not responsible for these people. So, let them go. Stop being their crutch.

The person who keeps reminding you about your past mistakes and current shortcomings.

Is there anything more annoying than finally making a positive change in your life, only to have someone close to you remind you of how many times you've messed up in the past? Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails. Alot. You have to let this go. You have to forgive yourself for everything.

If you don’t forgive yourself, other people will use your guilt against you. They will control you with your past. They’ll make you believe that you’re not allowed to take risks because you’ve made too many mistakes in the past. Don't listen to these people. Instead, learn from the past and then let it go. The future of your business is much too interesting for you to stay buried in the past. 

The person who slights your accomplishments.

When someone you know achieves something great, it’s normal to feel a slight twinge of jealousy. Your brain will immediately try to compare what the other person has accomplished to what you’ve accomplished. If the other person has accomplished something better or different than you, your brain will try to justify what happened so you don’t feel bad about yourself.

A mature person justifies other people’s accomplishments by getting excited for them and thinking, "Wow, if I work hard, I can do something like that, too." An immature person will justify other people’s accomplishments by saying, "They got lucky" or acting as though those others' accomplishments are worthless.

The only way to keep achieving bigger, better accomplishments in your new business is to cut out immature people who try to belittle what you achieve. At the same time, you have to be mature enough to praise other people’s accomplishments and to freely help them achieve more.

If you want to achieve great things in your business, start respecting other people's achievements.

The person who turns you into a worse version of yourself.

Everyone has someone in his or her life that brings out the worst in them. Maybe it’s a former, passive-aggressive colleague, a controlling relationship partner or a possessive family member. Whoever it is, stop letting this person hijack your personality. If you find yourself thinking and acting foolishly around someone, stop being around that person. 

You know who you really are, and you know who you have to be to reach your business goals. So, always be the best version of yourself, especially when starting a business. And surround yourself with people who hold you accountable to being the best you. 

Yourself (your own self-sabotaging thoughts and habits).

There’s only one person who can keep you from achieving your biggest goals -- you. You are either your own worst enemy or your own best friend. So, take a hard look at the bad habits and self-sabotaging tendencies that might keep you from achieving your business goals.

Often, people sabotage themselves because they’re afraid of succeeding. They’re afraid of losing their current identity. These people will make great progress toward a goal and then suddenly, right before achieving it, pull back. 

The reason people pull back from success is because they are more comfortable with their past selves than their future selves. They’re uncertain of whom they will become (and if they can handle it), so they fail on purpose. You must avoid this part of yourself. Let go of the person you used to be and open yourself up to the person you can be. The success of your business depends on it.

8 NORTHERN NIGERIAN DRINKS YOU MUST DEFINITELY TRY

By Lilian Binda

The hot season is here and hasn’t been kind or friendly to every Nigerian wherever you are.

It’s that season where any form of liquid appeals to you more than food itself. You’re constantly parched and nothing would be more soothing than a chilled bottle of refreshing liquid.

Besides the popular Fura da Nono, the average northerner considers his day incomplete without taking any of the following drinks. Perchance you find yourself up north, PLEASE try one of these and I’m sure you’ve live to tell the experience for years to come.

1. Kunun Aya (Ofio Milk)

It’s a highly nutritious and refreshing drink made from Tiger Nuts. Some call it Ofio Milk. The tiny tubers are peculiar with northerners popularly called Aya. The milk can serve as a substitute for the regular cow milk because of its healthy nutrients and most nursing mothers drink it because of its ability to enhance breast milk production.

2. Kunun Zaki (Millet Drink)

Kunun zaki, a non-alcoholic beverage is produced from whole grains of millet, sorghum and sometimes corn. It’s quite popular in most part of Nigeria particularly northern Nigeria where it originated from. Its major nutrients are protein and fiber. Spices like (ginger, cloves, red and black pepper) are usually incorporated in the preparation process.

3. Zoborodo (Roselle Drink)

Zobo (Zoborodo) is a Nigerian beverage made from dried Roselle plant flowers. The purple like drink is also known as Roselle drink and called Sorrel drink in the Caribbean. You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose but so much to gain for taking a chilled glass of Zobo like weight loss, lowers blood pressure and helps relieve colds and cough.

4. Soy Milk

Soy milk another popular northern drink is a plant milk produced by soaking dried soybeans and grinding them in water. Soy is naturally high in essential fatty acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients provide energy and keep your body functioning at its optimum level.

5. Kunun Tsamiya (Tamarind Drink)

Tamarind drink is very a popular beverage in northern Nigeria. The fruit itself is sold off the streets by local hawkers or at market places. The flavor of tamarind is tart and seductive, making for an intriguing quencher.

6. Koko (Pap)

Pap the popular name known by Nigerians is a day breaker for most northern Nigerians. It’s mostly taken with Kose da doya—Bean cake and friend yam. Just like kunun zaki, koko is made out of millet, corn, guinea corn and local spices. The only difference between both drinks is koko is taken hot while the other is a colder version.

7. Kunun Gyada

Kunun gyada is one of the most important home-prepared weaning foods. It is very popular in northern Nigeria, just as ogi is in the south of the country. It is eaten as a breakfast beverage by older children and adults, and its consumption increases considerably during the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan.

8. Ginger Drink

The popular root used for teas is grown from the northern part of Nigeria and has been an all-time favorite for not just the northerners but Nigerians generally.

Source: OMG Voice