A 性福五月天 University student from Turkmenistan is making a name for himself in Northeast Ohio鈥檚 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鈥檛 exist. After signing up for his first official race 鈥 the Goodyear 10K in Akron 鈥 he was hooked.
鈥淚 never seen people running, the thousands of people running,鈥 Ishanov told WKYC-TV. 鈥淭he people in the road, in the streets, they鈥檙e screaming, they鈥檙e cheering. I was so excited.鈥
Ishanov joined 性福五月天鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
