The Great Ethiopian Run, now in its fourth year, is extremely popular.

The fourth Great Ethiopian Run took place on the 28^th November with more than 20,000 competitors taking part. Abebe Dinkesa and Genet Getaneh won the event with finishing times of 29 minutes and 57 seconds and 34 minutes 18 seconds respectively.

Abebe had returned to Ethiopia to take part in the run, only three days after competing in the Chiba International Ekiden in Japan, where the Ethiopian Men’s and Women’s teams won their marathon relay races for the third year in a row. 

This year the 10.2km race was started by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, despite a now traditional false-start some ten minutes earlier. International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack, on his first visit to Ethiopia, was also in attendance and Hollywood star Danny Glover was present to hand out medals to the victors.

Runners at the start of the Great Ethiopian Run.

There were an estimated additional 5,000 non-registered runners who also took part. The previous competition in 2003 was also wildly popular. Officially 18,000 people entered the race; an incredible 25,000 actually turned up on the day. Richard Nerurkar, local race organiser and a former World Marathon Cup winner, said that after three years of building the event and its reputation, “it’s now gathered its own momentum, with people eagerly awaiting its return each year – hence the flood of entries.”

ENDS