Running from a nightmare

When he was in jail, Hiko Tonosa had one request for the officers who would beat him with large wooden sticks. Hit me anywhere, he’d say, except the legs.

Hiko Tonosa forges clear of the field in the Senior Men’s event during the Irish Life Health National Championships in November. For years, Tonosa feared a return to Ethiopia as he is a member of the marginalised Oroma race, the largest ethnic, but persecuted group in his homeland. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

When was in jail, Hiko Tonosa had one request for the officers who would beat him with large wooden sticks.