Aregawi and Yehualaw crowned champions at the 2019 Great Ethiopian Run
Race organisers making plans to celebrate the race’s 20th anniversary next year
18-year old Berihu Aregawi and 20-year old Yalemzerf Yehualaw were the men’s and women’s winners respectively at the 2019 Total Great Ethiopian Run 10km – Africa’s biggest road race – staged in Addis Ababa on Sunday 17th November 2019.
Aregawi, the bronze medallist at the 2018 World Junior 10,000 Championships edged out Andamlak Belihu in the final few metres of the race with both athletes given the same finishing time of 28 minutes 22.18 seconds, one of the fastest winning times in the race’s 19-year history.
By contrast, 20-year old Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who four weeks ago recorded a PB of 66:01 when taking the runner-up spot behind Tsegay Gemechu in the 2019 Delhi Half Marathon, was the clear winner of the women’s race, coming home in a time of 31:54.00, 26 seconds ahead of Tsige Gebreselama in 2nd and Alem Negussie in 3rd.
The race itself had its typical carnival atmosphere as over 38,500 participants completed the 10km route. In place of the normal warm-up routine, runners enjoyed a dance routine which had been widely shared on social media.
…more international participants taking part
Around 450 runners from outside Ethiopia took part this year, one of the highest numbers of overseas participants for the race.
Four influencers, two from the UK and two from Italy, also travelled to Ethiopia as race guests and gave extensive coverage of the race and Ethiopia on social media.
All four extended their trips to see more of the country and will be sharing the wider Ethiopia experience in their blog posts and videos that will come out in December and January, to tie in with the peak holiday booking season.
“The funny thing is that it was more like a street party than a run, such an awesome atmosphere!”
Jordan Simons (@TheLifeOfJord)
“The highlight of our time in Addis for the Great Ethiopian Run? Meeting Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest long-distance runner of all times!”
Margerita from The Crowded Planet (@MargheNick)
In October, following a public vote, the Great Ethiopian Run won the “Best International Running Event” award of The Challenge Awards – dubbed ‘the Oscars of the endurance industry’.
Race organisers are already making plans to celebrate the race’s 20th edition on 15th November 2020. Please email richard@ethiopianrun.org if you require details of how to register for the race.
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