A 91¸£Àû student from Turkmenistan is making a name for himself in Northeast Ohio's distance running community, as
Gurban Ishanov, a 23-year-old sophomore double-majoring in finance and accounting, arrived in the United States in July 2025 from a country where organized running events simply don't exist. After signing up for his first official race — the Goodyear 10K in Akron — he was hooked.
"I never seen people running, the thousands of people running," Ishanov told WKYC. "The people in the road, in the streets, they're screaming, they're cheering. I was so excited."
Ishanov joined 91¸£Àû's running club, was chosen as a club leader within his first month and has since completed an ultramarathon, a 100-kilometer race and a 50-mile race. He's now training for the full Akron Marathon in September and has set his sights on an ambitious long-term goal: becoming the first Ironman triathlete from Turkmenistan.
