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“For me, a day without training is like a day without eating”
Haile Gebrselassie
Click here to support the official fundraising campaign
for the 2022 Sofi Malt Great Ethiopian Run International 10km.
This year we are aiming to raise over 1 million Birr for our beneficiaries!
For the past 21 years, organizations have registered groups for the international 10km.
This year we are inviting those groups who can’t make it to Addis Ababa in person
to run the race virtually and raise money for good causes.
Groups of ten or more runners are being offered a discounted rate of £20 per entrant. Additional postage fee of £30 for a group of 20 or less using one address and £50 for a group of over 20 using one address.
All registrants will receive a race t-shirt and race medal!
All participants who register for the virtual run
and complete the 10km distance
will receive a race t-shirt and a race medal.
After have registered, please download the Strava app, register your account (for free), and join our running group Great Ethiopian Run – Virtual Run.
If you prefer not to use an app, we ask you to do a screen-save of your running watch with your saved time and distance and send this to virtualrun@ethiopianrun.org
The results of those in the group will be posted on the Great Ethiopian Run website.
You can also see live updated results on the ‘Leaderboard’ as runs are completed.
Please note that the deadline for registering for the virtual run
is Friday 11 November 2022. You must register before 7 October if you want to receive your race t-shirt before race week.
Week 6
Athlete Haile’s – Respected advice
My main advice at this point is: start your training now! It doesn’t matter how you train. I run in the forest and also train in the gym. For you, it may be different. But whether it’s running or gym training, whether it’s morning or evening, what counts is a good routine. And for this you need discipline! And one final thing: if you’re new to training, start gently!
Training suggestion: Walk for 20-30 minutes every other day.
Week 5
HAILE – Respected advice
Last week I said: start your training gently. Now my advice is: build up gradually. In other words, step by step. I always say: don’t rush training! It takes time to build fitness. Remember what I said last week: routine and discipline are everything!
Training suggestion: Walk 10 minutes – jog 2 minutes – walk 5 minutes – jog 2 minutes – walk 5 minutes
Do the session above twice this week. The third session should be a 20-30 minute walk.
Week 4
HAILE – Respected advice
This week, let me advise something a bit different. We call it interval training. The idea is: you push hard and then have a short
recovery, and then you repeat this. This is a great way of increasing your fitness. It’s also a nice change from just running at one pace.
Training suggestion:
Session 1: Walk 5minutes – jog 1 minute – walk 1 minute (repeat 5x) – walk 5 minutes
Session 2: Walk 5 minutes – – jog 5 minutes – walk 5 minutes – jog 5 minutes – walk 5 minutes
Session 3: repeat session 1
Session 4: Walk 10 minutes – jog 4 minutes – walk 2 minutes – – jog 4 minutes – walk 2 minutes
Week 3
HAILE – Respected advice
Practice running uphill! You can do this on a treadmill in a gym by changing the gradient. It’s even better if you can run up hills outside. Find a good hill, which is not too steep and with a good running surface. Run up it (for about a minute) and then walk down. Repeat this six times. Hard work – but great for your fitness!
Training suggestion:
Session 1: Walk 5 minutes – jog 2 minutes – rest – hill session (as above) – walk 10 minutes
Session 2: Walk 3 minutes – – jog 3 minutes – (repeat 4 times) – walk 5 minutes
Session 3: repeat session 1
Session 4: Walk 3 minutes – – jog 5 minutes – (repeat 3 times) – walk 5 minutes
Week 2
HAILE – Respected advice
This is the final week of hard training – leaving it until next week will be too late. So this week test yourself! As a test, you could try timing yourself over 2km. Then have a short recovery. Then run another 2km followed by another short recovery. One final bit of advice: eat well and stay healthy!
Training suggestion:
Session 1: Walk 5 minutes – test yourself over 2km (and repeat, as above) – walk 5 minutes
Session 2: Walk 3 minutes – – jog 3 minutes – (repeat 4 times) – walk 5 minutes
Session 3: Walk 5 minutes – jog 1 minute – walk 1 minute (repeat 8x) – walk 5 minutes
Session 4: Walk 10 minutes – – jog 10 minutes – (repeat 3 times)
Final week
HAILE – Respected advice
This week my advice is: don’t do too much! So: keep training, but gentle training is now better than hard training! Think about the race. Yes, lots of participants! – and they will help you get around. Also, you need energy and determination. Check you know the course, and don’t start too fast!
Training suggestion:
Session 1: Walk 2 minutes – jog 8 minutes – walk 2 minutes – jog 8 minutes – walk 2 minutes
Session 2: Walk 10 minutes – jog 4 minutes – walk 2 minutes – (repeat 3 times) – walk 2 minutes
The entry fee for international participants for the 10km race is £70. This fee includes a race t-shirt and entry to the pre-race pasta party which will take place at the Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa on the Saturday evening immediately before the race. The entry fee for international participants for the Hawassa half-marathon is £70 which also includes a race t-shirt and entry to the pre-race pasta party.
We recommend Ethiopian Airlines – by far the quickest and easiest way of flying to Ethiopia. By using Ethiopian Airlines for your international flights you also get discounts on internal flights.
Most international visitors do need a visa to enter Ethiopia and many foreign visitors can apply for an e-visa before travelling to Ethiopia. Check if you need a visa on the Ethiopian Embassy website
Ethiopian birr is not available outside Ethiopia. You can get birr from local banks (also situated inside the international terminal building at Addis Ababa International Airport) and at ATMs.
Amharic is the most commonly spoken language in Ethiopia. English is spoken in most hotels and restaurants in Addis Ababa and in most hotels and restaurants used by foreigners throughout the country.
One month before your race you will receive details of where to collect your race pack. If you have arranged your trip to Ethiopia through us, we will deliver your race pack to your hotel in Addis Ababa. This pack contains your race t-shirt and race magazine with important information about the race.
Participants in our races can fundraise either for their own charity or for ‘Running for a Cause’, the official fundraising campaign associated with our races. Individual participants registering online have the option to donate to Running for a Cause. Each year we nominate four local Ethiopian charity organisations as beneficiaries of this campaign.
Your best chance of doing this will be at the pre-race pasta party, entry for which is included in the race entry for international participants for both the 10km and 21km races.
Addis Ababa is situated at 2,300m -2,400m, or 7,000-7,500 feet which is considered to be reasonably high altitude when you’re talking about doing any strenuous physical activity. So it will be unusual if you don’t feel the altitude, and particularly if you’re climbing stairs or walking briskly uphill. That said, any reasonably fit person should not be concerned about completing the 10km run. You can take it at your own pace, and there will be many others going more slowly than you who are not at all concerned about how long it is taking them! If you need more detailed advice about ways to acclimatise, please email your questions to richard@ethiopianrun.org.
Running 10km at altitude can feel as tough as a 15km race at sea-level. Doing longer training runs will help build more endurance. Also, give yourself more time to acclimatise to altitude by arriving in Ethiopia earlier in the week, or even one week before. Find out about the course route: the course usually used has a long uphill section in the second half. Email us for further details about the course being used this year.
A number of precautionary measures will be in place at the 10km road race to guard against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. These will include: temperature checks as participants arrive at the start; availability of hand sanitisers at multiple locations around the start and finish; and a requirement for participants to wear masks in all assembly areas at the start until the point at which they start the run and after they finish the run. We are also developing a system for a wave system for the start which will enable participants to take part in the run with a degree of distancing. Although we have used wave starts in the past, for this race we will employ multiple waves with no more than 1,000 participants in each wave. Medals will be given to all finishers. We are finalising details of how medals will be given to participants. More details will be given shortly.
Go Green 2022-23 Plan
ACTION 1: WE WILL MINIMISE CARBON EMISSIONS
We are promoting “3km of walking per day” to get us all to think more about walking in place of making short car journeys.
We encourage participants living in close proximity (3km radius) to race venue to walk to and back from race venue on race day.
We are also encouraging our participants to use public transport and shared car transport for arriving at and returning from the race.
We will deploy electric cars to lead the elite race.
ACTION 2: WE WILL RECYCLE WHEREVER POSSIBLE
As in the past year’s race, we have used recyclable (eco-friendly) materials in the production of our race t-shirts & goody bags. We have continued our partnership with PETCO to collect and recycle all plastic bottles and other rubbish consumed and produced on race day.
ACTION 3: WE WILL ENCOURAGE DISPOSAL OF RUBBISH
Rubbish bins will be placed along the race course every 250m.
We’ll also put more portable toilets on race course
ACTION 4: WE WILL USE LESS PLASTIC
This year we are using a lighter water bottle for participants to make it easier for recycling. Our goody bag is also made of a non-plastic material which can be reused for shopping by participants.
ACTION 5: WE WILL USE LESS PAPER
We no longer use paper for registering participants. All registration has been done electronically.
Participants also receive their race magazine electronically in place of printed magazines.
We use more e-posters, e-fliers, e-invites
Re-use scrap papers for internal communication purposes
We put a disclaimer: “think about the environment before you print this email” on all our electronic communications as a reminder to our stakeholders.
ACTION 6: WE WILL WORK TO CREATE AWARENESS ABOUT ENVIRONMENT
Putting Go Green logo on every promotional materials
Scheduled (weekly/monthly) posts on social media about environment and GER’s Go Green 5 strands
Run social media campaigns to Teach/Train/Encourage people not to throw rubbish in their day to day activities
We invite all our participants and stakeholders to join us in this campaign and to contribute positively to the sustainability of our environment.
