Here at Great Ethiopian Run, we believe that running a 10k should not stop you from having a good party.
From the moment the DJ puts on the first track as crowds gather in Meskel Square, the party begins. Our course has 8 live bands providing all the beats you need to keep you running.
We recognise the effort you have put in to prepare for the race; some of you go the extra mile and raise money for our charity campaign.
Some roads approaching Meskel Square are closed from early on on race-day morning. Plan your route to the race start and arrive in plenty time, to start with your wave of runners. Wear your race t-shirts and race numbers with pride, and don’t forget that your finishers medal gives you discounted access to our post-race concert at Ghion Unity Park.
Running and completing any race is an achievement.
But for some runners, it isn’t quite enough. They require an added challenge.
Take, for example, John-Paul De Lacy, in the 2010 London marathon. To help raise money for charity he chose to run the entire marathon in a giraffe costume. No mean feat considering the neck of the giraffe stretched to 7 meters high, and the London marathon course goes through several tunnels. He had to crawl to get through.
De Lacy now holds the world record for “Tallest Costume Worn While Running a Marathon” – a strange but remarkable achievement.
He is not alone in setting himself absurd running challenges.
Michal Kapral is the world’s leading talent in joggling. (This is jogging while juggling at the same time.) He holds the marathon record for joggling, at 2 hours 50 minutes and 12 seconds, an extraordinary time without the juggling part!
And let’s not forget the fastest marathon while dribbling a ball. At the Sydkyst Marathon in Denmark, Jan La Caille dribbled a football round the whole 26.2 miles, on a course both on road and on rough ground, in an incredible time of 3 hours 29 minutes and 55 seconds.
Happily, Ethiopia had its own record breaker in the world of extraordinary runners. The record for the fastest barefoot marathon is still held by Abebe Bikila. In the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome, Bikila clinched the gold medal, but quite unintentionally also gained the record for barefoot marathon too.
The Great Ethiopian Run International 10k is, of course, a running event.
Some of you will have signed up purely to run. And who wouldn’t want to run in Africa’s largest mass participation road race?
But anyone who has taken part in our 10k race before knows it is also a party in disguise.
From the moment the speakers are switched on at 7am on race day morning, the party begins. Who can keep their feet, or shoulders, from dancing when Meskal Square is filled with music? If this is your first time at our race, you will soon discover that nobody can!
Barely a kilometre goes by without some music to cheer you on your way…our course is filled with live bands and performers. And somehow running 10k doesn’t feel such an effort when your feet naturally move with the rhythm. As you cross the finish line, the joy of finishing is perhaps mixed with a touch of sadness, that the party is coming to an end.
It is no secret that running can make you feel good.
Many people experience a feeling of euphoria after a session of aerobic exercise. For some people running is like a drug. It is addictive and the more you run, the more you want to.
But for some of us, keeping up the running habit does not come so easily. Perhaps you are finding it hard to stick to your regular training sessions? And with the 2017 Great Ethiopian International 10k race just around the corner, it is important to stay motivated.
Perhaps you need a deeper reason to run? Perhaps you need to run for a cause?
Since 2005, Great Ethiopian Run has been raising money for local charities working with some of the most vulnerable people here in Ethiopia. This year, why not take the opportunity to raise money for our campaign.
It’s easy to run for a cause.
You can take a sponsorship form from the Great Ethiopian Run Office (Alem Bdg, Room 601, Africa Avenue, Addis Ababa 0116-633646 / 635757) and
Human beings have always run. Anthropologists believe that ancient man ran hundreds of miles tracking and hunting food. The best runners got the best dinners.
The bodies we have today appear to have evolved and developed into machines designed for running, from our shorts toes (which help us to push off), our large bottoms, (necessary for balance while moving), to our many sweat glands and large stabilising knee joints. Homo sapiens are made to run.
And good runners have certainly proved useful. The story goes that in 490 BC, Pheidippides ran from the ancient Greek city of Marathon to Sparta (no less than 149miles) carrying news of a Persian invasion. The modern day “marathon” was named in honour of his great achievement.
