Eritrean by birth, Meb Keflezighi has become perhaps the greatest long-distance runner in American history. Bill Frakes/SI

To see Meb Keflezighi at Massawa Eritrean restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side is to understand the world that shaped the United States' greatest distance runner. Long before he won a silver medal in the Olympic marathon in Athens, Keflezighi, 30, enjoyed many meals like this with his family.

There is no silverware at an Eritrean feast. The food is a tasty presentation of spiced purees and meats assembled on a bed of sponge bread known as injera. You use separate rolls of injera, much like crepes, to scoop up the food, which is shared among the table.

The meal is really a celebration, a nod to family, culture and making something plentiful out of something simple. Keflezighi's life deserves the same celebration.

When Meb was 6, his father Russom decided to flee his war-torn land on foot. Eritrea, then the northern province of Ethiopia, had been engaged in a civil war for independence that would last 30 years and, worsened by disease and famine, cost millions of lives. Ethiopian militia had been targeting many of the Eritrean men for inscription or execution and Russom knew they would get him unless he got out.

The exit was perilous. Russom walked nearly 200 miles on foot to the Sudan, traveling by night and taking with him only a flashlight to shine in the sensitive eyes of the hyenas that might try to eat him.

He reached the new land safely and emigrated, through Eritrean contacts, into Italy and later took his family to San Diego. There, 12-year-old Meb came out of his shell by entering a contest to run a mile, which he finished in 5:20.

After an outstanding career at UCLA, where he graduated in 1999 with a degree in communications, Meb made his first Olympic team in 2000, when he placed 12th in the 10,000 meters in Sydney, Australia. Four years later, he broke away from Kenyan favorite Paul Tergat and finished behind only Italy's Stefano Baldini in the Athens marathon. Last fall he also finished second in the New York Marathon, just three months after competing at the Olympics.

It is an ironic twist that some in the domestic running world have not embraced Keflezighi as an "American runner," lumping him together with others who have emigrated after establishing their running credentials abroad and then reaping the benefits of sponsorship and convenience over here.