Distance runner Gilbert Tuhabonye survived the ethnic violence in his native Burundi in 1993 and rebuilt his life in the U.S . He now coaches in Austin , Texas and has been attempting to qualify for this year 's Olympics . He 'll be writing about his preparations and giving his views on athletics leading up to the Games . CNN -- May 20 , 2008 . Athletes and non-athletes alike often have the dream of going to the Olympic Games -- it 's the ultimate experience in sports . He may have not finished the London Marathon , but Gilbert Tuhabonye has overcome greater setbacks . I am no exception and this year , I decided to go for it , but first I needed a qualifying time in the marathon . I decided that the Flora London Marathon was my best shot at getting a qualifying time that might land me a spot on the team of my country -- Burundi . I trained hard in the U.S. and was feeling very good about the upcoming race . A few weeks before I was heading out to London , I started to experience pain in my sciatic nerve , which started to pull at my hamstring . I continued to train and hope for the best , knowing that I have pushed my body many times before and worked through injury . When I arrived in London and tried to run , my hamstring really gave me a lot of pain , but I did not panic . I thought it was from sitting on the plane over to London from Texas for ten hours . I continued to train and to stay hydrated and hope for the best . The marathon is a race that must always be respected . You have to have a strategy and a back up plan . So , on the day of the race , I really felt good and tried to warm up . My hamstring was not cooperating . When I hit mile two , I knew that it was going to be rough and dialed back my time per mile time from 5:15 to 5:42 thinking I could make up the time later . By mile 3 , the pain was so terrible , I knew that the Olympics were out of the question . At mile 4 and 5 I thought that I would just finish the race , I could not quit . Things began to get worse for me from that point . The rain had started and I was looking for the medical tent . There , they wrapped me up and told me to wait , but I just could n't . I headed back to the course and started to walk . The rain was really coming down at that point and I became upset . My dream was washing away through my tears onto the streets of London . I had never been in this part of a marathon before , but I knew a friend who was running and I tried to find her to help her and encourage her along the way . Finally , a taxi driver saw me and double-backed , picked me up and dropped me off at my hotel . It was time to regroup and figure this out . This was not the worse thing that has ever happened to me . I have survived worse situations . Watch Gilbert Tuhabonye talk about his experiences » . I started to reflect upon the fact that every time I try and train hard for a marathon , something happens . Perhaps this is just not the right time for me . Perhaps God has something else in mind for me . I am being stubborn and pushing for something that is not supposed to be right now . Now , I am home in Austin , Texas some weeks later . Watch Gilbert coaching his Gilbert 's Gazelles » . Thankfully , my hamstring was not torn . I have done physical therapy and massage therapy to repair the damage . I have been working hard at strengthening my core to support the rest of my body . I know that I still have that marathon in me , but it was not meant to be for this year . There are so many issues with these Olympics -- the humidity , the pollution and now , the terrible crisis and suffering of the Chinese people hit by the earthquake . They are the ones who need our help , our hope and our prayers .
Marathon runner Gilbert Tuhabonye writes for CNN.com leading up to the Olympics . Training has been tough and there is still some way to go if he is to qualify . The U.S. team will be led by coach Bruce Jenner, who won gold in Beijing four years ago.