Ethiopian Runners, Endurance 
Breaking News
Haile Gebrselassie will run for London 2012 Olympic, announced today
Ethiopian Athletics: Haile Gebrselassie announces return to running
Nekemte – Just one week after he shocked the running world with his retirement announcement, after his midway withdrawal from the ING NY City Marathon race, Haile Gebrselassie has announced that he will return to running during the ceremony of the Great Nekemte Run here today, wrote EthiopiaFirst.com.
According to the website, Haile was one of the honorary guests at the “Great Run in Nekemete” to help the fundraise activities to build the Wollega Stadium. He urged all to partake for the completion of the stadium. The climax of the event was when he declared his decision to comeback to professional running. The mood was extraordinary and everyone seemed happy
Ethiopia needs you Haile Gebrselassie, so does the London 2012 Olympics
By Ian Chadband, the Telegraph's chief sports correspondent
“His smile makes athletics smile,” Haile Gebrselassie’s manager Jos Hermens once told me.
The memory of this perfect observation flickered again on Sunday when it felt impossible not to harbour a twinge of sorrow about the great man’s unhappy, emotional announcement, after pulling out during the New York marathon, that he was retiring from competitive running with immediate effect. It wasn’t just Haile’s smile which had just evaporated.
It was not just that it seemed hard to imagine no longer charting an unparalleled sporting career which I had been privileged to watch and chronicle for 17 years since marvelling at this freakish little Ethiopian kid seemingly bouncing on his toes like a sprinter for 25 laps to win his first world 10,000m title in Stuttgart.
No, it was more than that; it actually felt like an empty day for the sport itself, like the loss of a constant shaft of sunshine in a landscape which has become so disfigured by doubt and cynicism. Athletics can ill afford to lose both purity and pure genius.
It did not seem right to hear that the greatest of athletes had limped away forlornly on New York’s Queensboro Bridge and then punished himself with tears of recrimination in a press conference room. This was no way to go.
Sport is mercilessly unsentimental about things like that, you can shrug. It rarely offers dream goodbyes for dream athletes. Yet Gebrselassie deserves so much better than this anti-climactic ending and, after Sunday’s initial shock, I am happy to still be persuaded that he will change his mind about retirement and that a rather more fitting bow may yet still await him in London 2012.
If his closest advisors, like Hermens, are right in believing that the 37-year-old was simply acting on distressed impulse on Sunday, so crushed was he by having to succumb to a knee problem after his hardest pre-race preparations for years, and that he could yet have a change of heart, then why shouldn’t London be back on the agenda?
Gebrselassie has always acted from the heart and is incredibly hard on himself. He has had to pull out before or during several big races, through injuries and illness, in the past few years and each time he has sounded guilty, clearly hating the idea that he was somehow letting people down. New York was the final straw.
Only the good news is that there have been previous ‘final straws’. It is hard not to forget how crestfallen he seemed after struggling home ninth in his first crack at the London Marathon. He was going to quit then too but within two years was world record holder.
This year alone, admittedly betwixt more injury setbacks, he has won the Dubai Marathon in a hardly sluggish 2hr 6min 9sec and clocked his best half-marathon time for two years in winning the Great North Run. So it was little wonder that even in the week’s build-up to New York, he had been reiterating his ambition to run for a third gold medal, following his two 10,000m triumphs in Atlanta and Sydney, in London.
Yes, of course even should he now go back on Sunday’s announcement, the odds must be very long on Gebrselassie winning gold in London. Yet since he still rues his decision to withdraw from the Beijing Olympic marathon – as an asthmatic, his fears that the pollution there would be too oppressive proved unfounded and he ended up breaking the world record in Berlin soon after – he must not leave his matchless career with one final regret
For even if he did not win, he would give himself the unmissable chance, in front of thousands of cheering supporters on the capital’s streets, to cross the line (whether it be in front of Buckingham Palace or, as I earnestly still hope, the Olympic Stadium itself) to a reception befitting one of the great Olympians.
On Tuesday he tweeted to the world (funny how Twitter seems to be the only repository left for brief, honest reflections from celebrities) that “now it is time for me to think about a lot of things. I still love running. I will always run. Just give me some time to think things over.”
Of course, we will, Haile. Just think it over and then tell us it is not over quite yet. Your country needs you, London needs you and your sport needs you. Just one more for the Olympic road…
One of greatest distance runners ever just stops
By Jim Litke, AP Sports Columnist
With 16 kilometers (10 miles) to go, Haile Gebrselassie began wobbling, then pulled over to the side and simply stopped.
The Ethiopian great was done not just with Sunday's New York City Marathon if he can be believed, but with competitive racing forever.
A day earlier, fluid was drained from the 37-year-old's right knee after an MRI revealed tendinitis. Yet so strong was Gebrselassie's hold on the sport up until that moment, even though his struggles were apparent, all the other elite racers were still shadowing him.
The moment he faltered, they took off.
"I said, 'Haile, c'mon,' but he couldn't move," recalled his countryman, Gebre Gebremariam, 26, who slowed briefly before going on to win the race. "He just said: 'I can't, Gebre, you have to go on.'"
By the time he arrived at the finish line, though, Gebrselassie sounded even more convinced.
"When I announce this, maybe everybody becomes a little bit shocked. I don't want to complain anymore after this, which means it's better to stop here," he said, fighting back tears.
"I never think about to retire," Gebrselassie added. "But for the first time, this is the day."
With time to reflect, Gebrselassie may yet change his mind. He set more than two dozen world bests in every event he competed in from 3,000 meters through the marathon, for which he still holds the record, and twice won Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters. Just days ago, Gebrselassie was talking about running in the 2012 London Olympics.
But the one thing he's been talking about steadily, and putting his money where his mouth is, is what Gebrselassie calls his "other job" a network of schools, sports clubs and businesses in Ethiopia employing hundreds in one of the world's poorest nations. Back home in Addis Ababa, Gebrselassie, the son of a farmer who became wealthy beyond imagination, is hailed as "The Emperor."
"They'll be excited about the winning," Gebremariam said about his countrymen. "But I think everybody's worried about his stopping. ... So I think in Ethiopia he has to change his plans. He has to continue to race."
New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg joked afterward, "I told Haile that we're not accepting resignations today."
But a moment later, she mused, "He lives in a whole different world than most professional athletes today. He doesn't have machines to help deal with injuries. He didn't jump in cold baths. This is a guy who has such natural talent that he's never dealt with any of that. ...
"This is the kind of athlete that when you've performed to the highest of highs, he may very well decide that it's enough."
More than once, Gebrselassie could have done that against a backdrop better suited to call it a career, most recently at the 2004 Athens games. There, he was celebrated not just as an athlete who set marks at every distance that were faster than when he arrived, but as a mentor who inspired everyone who competed against him.
Gebrselassie limped home a disappointing fifth in the 10,000 meters. But his courageous run was all the gold and silver medalists, Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine, could talk about afterward. Dropped by the leaders seven laps into the race, he caught the lead pack with a mile to go, only to get dropped again in a blistering sprint to the finish.
"We were hoping to take the first three places," Bekele said quietly, the joy of his win tempered, "but Haile wasn't able to keep up."
It happened again Sunday, but just as in Athens, Gebrselassie was less interested in collecting tributes than handing them out. Shortly after his announcement, he began inquiring about when Edison Pena, the rescued Chilean miner who decided to run the marathon, was likely to finish.
Gebrselassie had lingered at the airport after his flight arrived in New York to greet the Chilean and he hoped to give him a congratulatory hug. Gebrselassie could have been jealous about all the attention and the fuss over Pena, who was, after all, essentially a novelty act. But that would have been out of character.
Asked to assess Gebrselassie's impact on both the sport and his countrymen, Gebremariam thought for a moment.
"Haile is special. Haile," the young Ethiopian paused, "is very king."
When world record holder Haile Gebrselassie dropped out of the New York City Marathon just more than halfway through, it opened the door for a different man from Ethiopia to grab the stage and Gebre Gebremariam took advantage.
Gebremariam, 26, made his splash in his marathon debut, using a devastating finishing kick he developed at shorter distances to finish first in 2 hours, 8.14 minutes. He had come into the final miles in Central Park neck-and-neck with Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya but put the race away in strong fashion.
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya made a similarly devastating move in Central Park to grab the women’s title in 2:28.20. Surging to a second place finish in her marathon debut was American Shalane Flanagan, who finished in 2:28.40.
The marathon kicked off with a record field of 45,344 runners and played out on a beautiful, if a bit brisk, Sunday morning that dawned with temperatures in the 30s.
It was the perfect setting for the biggest race ever and headlined by the biggest name in distance running, Gebrselassie, and defending champion Meb Keflezighi, who last year became the first American to win the New York City Marathon since 1982. But Gebrselassie, who came in battling a knee injury, dropped out on the Queensboro Bridge. Click Picture below to watch video
Mohammed and Bekele take Ethiopian 30km titles
Elshadai Negash/Bezuayehu Wagaw
Merima Mohammed of Ethiopia en route to her 2:28:19 win in Ottawa (Victah Sailer)
relnewsAdama, Ethiopia - National cross country champion Azmeraw Bekele and Toronto Waterfront Marathon winner Merima Mohammed were the impressive winners of the 3rd Ethiopian 30km Championships in Adama on Sunday (31).
In the team competition, Defence forces were the comfortable winners of both the men's and women's race in arguably the best field ever assembled for a 30km road race in Ethiopia.
The women's race was billed as a battle between 18-year old Merima Mohammed, who run 2:23:06 to win the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada in September, and this year's Dubai Marathon champion Mamitu Daska.
With near perfect conditions in Adama, which is situated 100km from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the race got off to an explosive start. The pre-race favourites tugged behind a large leading group of ten runners at 5km with no one showing an adventurous move to the front until the halfway mark.
The first runner to attempt a break from the group was Martha Markos at 18km, but she was soon closed down by dwindling group of six runners that included the pre-race favourites.
Deska then hit the front with 5km left to go, with Mohammed easily following him. This front pair ran next-and-neck until the final two kilometres when Mohammed opened a lead which he continued to extend before taking a deserved victory in 1:45:14 with Deska following home exactly ten seconds behind the race winner. Newcomer Yetsehay Desalegne beat the more expeirenced Markos in the battle for third place.
Bekele tops Worku
Bezu Worku, who stunned many by running a 2:06:15 marathon in 2009 five months before celebrating his 19th birthday, and has since improved his personal best to 2:05:25 in this year's Berlin Marathon in September, was expected to run away with victory in Adama.
But national cross country 12km champion Azmeraw Bekele has also enjoyed a fantastic breakout year in 2010 and was not prepared to allow Worku to dominate proceedings.
After a slow start, Worku tried to breakaway at the halfway mark, but his intentions were quickly matched by the proceeding group with all runners in the leading pack of ten coping with the pressure and matching Worku's persistence.
It remained tight until the final stages of the race when Bekele used his finishing skills to upset Worku in a tight finish. He reached the finish first in 1:32:16 ahead of Worku who clocked 1:32:23 with Jifar taking third in 1:32:37.
Results
Men
1. Azmeraw Bekele (Federal Police) 1:32:16
2. Bezu Werku (Betel Teaching) 1:32:23
3. Tariku Jifar (Defense) 1:32:37
4. Zekeria Zene (Defense) 1:32:41
5. Haile Haja (Defense) 1:32:50
6. Feysa Bekele (Muger) 1:32:58
Women
1. Merima Mohammed (Federal prison) 1:45:14
2. Mamitu Daska (Oromiya police) 1:45:24
3. Yetsehay Desalegn (Defense) 1:45:57
4. Marta Markos (Defense) 1:46:02
5. Abebech Tsegaye (Defense) 1:48:34
6. Chaltu Moa (Oromiya Police) 1:48:59
The 32th edition international Marseille-Cassis Classique (20.308m), will start at 9:30hrs CET on Sunday 31 October. Title defender Meseret Mengistu will be the favourite in the women’s race while her Ethiopian teammates Lelisa Desisa and Deriba Merga will try to offer a first male victory to Ethiopia.
MEN
Lelisa Desisa, two weeks after his 7th place at World Half Marathon Championships held in Nanning, has the profile to become the first Ethiopian winner of Marseille-Cassis. The 20-year-old, African Junior 10,000m champion, had placed second in the Paris Half Marathon in March and set his personal best with 59:59 in Abu Dahbi in January.
Desisa's experienced teammate, Deriba Merga, 28, who place 4th at Beijing Olympic Marathon two years ago, arrives in South of France with questionable form, as he pulled out of his last two Marathons in Chicago and Chuncon this month, feeling out of shape.
Kenyans, who have won 12 out of the last 15 editions of Marseille-Cassis, will also line-up a strong squad, including Philemon Limo, 25, unbeaten this month after a fast 10km in Rennes (27:35) and a convincing win in Biella with 26:23 for a 9.6km race. Richard Limo, a track specialist (12:56.72 at 5000m in 2001 and 26:50.20 at 10,000m in 2002) converted in Marathon (2:06:45 in 2007), has strong arguments as well for the top place. His two Marathon this year, 2:09:48 in Los Angeles and 2:09:58 in San Diego confirms his consistency
A Tanzanian might disturb the classic fight between Ethiopians and Kenyan. Samwel Sharui, 2nd in Marseille-Cassis last year, has the advantage of knowing the course the best in the absence of titleholder Dieudonné Disi (RWA).
WOMEN
However, Meseret Mengistu will be there to defend her women’s title, and seems to be in even better shape than last year, as she has just set a new personal best in Nanning with 69:31 for 6th place. In April, the 20-year-old had made debuts at the Marathon, finishing 8th in Rotterdam with 2:34.07. Her teammate Emebet Itaa Bedada, 20 as well, has proved her shape a month ago in willing in Turin Half Marathon with 70:54, which is the longest race she ever ran as she is relying on her speed which enable her to win 1500m and 300m at African Junior Championships in 2007, and a 3rd place at World Junior Cross-Country Championships in 2008.Of course Kenya will send strong athletes to rival the Ethiopians. Jane Kiptoo, a former track specialist (31:15.79 at 10,000m) has now developed into a fine road runner (winner of the Milan Half Marathon with 69:52). Joséphine Kimuyu has recently gained confidence by winning in Saint-Denis last week in a new personal best of 71:07.
Europe’s chances will be defended by Ukrainian Olea Burkovska, 5th in Berlin Marathon with 2:28:31 a month ago.
With no less than 15,000 registered runners, the start of the first French Classic, organised by SCO Sainte-Marguerite will take pace at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille. The main difficulty of the race course is a 327m climb on ascending the Col de Gineste (10th km). The last half of the race takes place on the Carpiagne Plateau before joining the port of Cassis.
The weather forecast, unlike the previous years, predicts a cool temperature with light showers which might be more adequate to improve the old race records (59:01 by James Kwambai in 2002 and 1:08:30 by Susan Chepkemei in 2000). ( IAAF)
Ethiopia: Telling the story of a barefoot man:
Movie by Raselas Lakew
By Tibebeselassie Tigabu
It was five decades ago that a barefoot man crossed the streets of Rome, competing in the Rome Olympic marathon. Not only did he win, he set a new record and became the first black African to ever do so, and astonished the entire world.
That man was the Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who showed his persistence, his strive in winning. He became the revolutionary man who inspired the entire community, and will continue to do so for generations to come.
Abebe Bikila, born in Jato, near Addis, is a legendary athlete and a hero for many. He won his first marathon in Rome and four years later he won the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first man in history to win in two consecutive Games. Abebe’s running career was abruptly ended when a car accident paralyzed him below the waist. However, in newly-discovered sports he found the will to live again, and was able to win in archery at the English Paralympics and in handicapped country skiing in Norway.
For some he became a living legend, a hero they admired growing up, and in his home country of Ethiopia, his name came to signify endurance and persistence, and many sayings were created in his name.
His life inspired many, including Raselas Lakew, the Ethio-American filmmaker who wanted to tell the story of the man who had an impact on so many people’s lives and athletes who followed in his footsteps, making Ethiopia a nation of runners.
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Raselas Lakew was stunned by Abebe Bikila’s story, and like many other Ethiopians who watched the athlete on ETV as children and were all inspired, wanted to share Abebe’s story with the world.
Raselas’s deep love for sports and sport heroes began at a very young age, when he played ground tennis and his father also paid attention to his playing.
He started writing about Abebe Bekila and felt his life was connected to Abebe Bikila, a man who was a mentor for him. When he moved to the States he studied geology.
The love for the field and the outdoor life made him choose a subject which he didn’t even work on after graduation but still he wanted to tell the stories he kept buried inside him, especially Abebe Bikila’s.
Living in the states and watching TV programs and hearing no mention of Abebe when they talked about sports heroes compelled him to do something about it.
“They don’t talk about Abebe, they talk about their heroes but not about him, he was forgotten through time on the other side of the world. So, I want to tell that story to the world,” Raselas explains.
He strongly believes some stories should be told which can motivate, inspire, and bring positive changes as he tells Abebe Bikila’s story is one of the stories which should be told.
The way they portray Ethiopia in the western media, where the good things are overshadowed by the poverty and deprivation of the people, made Ethiopia one of the darkest countries forgetting the civilization, the different values and the mythologies are not important and implying there is nothing Ethiopia can offer to the world.
Wanting to balance the stories depicted in the different western media became one of his reasons to become a filmmaker.
Different moments and situations gave him an impression that there will be no one who is going to tell about Abebe other than him, especially the one-hundredth anniversary of the Olympic Games was one of the times where he learned he should do something about it.
When the world Olympics celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary he proposed to do a program on the legendary man for a TV station called ‘Biography’ in 1995 but he didn’t get the support of the media. So he went on his own.
Previously he started writing a script in 1993 but after that he started talking to Abebe’s closest friends, watching documentary films which are done on in his life and footages from the different tournaments and interviews he gave when he was alive.
Reselas explains, “I knew what I wanted to do, which was to tell about Abebe’s life but the struggle was how to portray his life to the audience in a new way. Should I depict his life with his family, while he was running? And finally I decided on his life after Mexico. I just happen to choose those years, some people want to tell the battle of Adwa from Menelik’s side, Alula or Taitu.”
Mexico was a place where Abebe was forced to quit because of some problem and when he was training for the Munich Olympics he had a car accident and Raselas focuses his film after the Mexico Olympics.
Raselas started doing more research, looking into the interviews Abebe gave and met the American film maker Davey Frankel, who did also a visual piece for the academy award winners Ang Lee, Tan Dun and Howard Shore.
Davey clearly understood what Raselas wanted to tell and they started developing the scripts together, finding financiers and started to shoot and there was no one better than Raselas himself playing the character of Abebe in the film.
“When we do the film we know what we are going to do. Where 30 minutes of the film are done Abebe driving that Volkswagen, so what we needed to know was how he was in life. From the researches we did what we found out his patriotism, a person who was humble, trustworthy with a refreshing sense of humor. We wanted to incorporate his behavior in the film relating with his last five years. We couldn’t add more things because we have time constraints and we couldn’t include everything. Even 12 hours is not enough, let alone 90 minutes,” explains Ras Lakew
The film, combining documentary and different footage, shows Abebe’s grievances, despair, determination in winning, and his close relationship with his trainer, Onni Niskanen.
“I saw their video and as you know Onni lived in Ethiopia for more than 40 years and they used to even address each other like a father and a son. When Abebe was in England for surgery Onni was with him. Onni believed in him. Like I said, decision was supposed to be made on which part to include in the film and vice versa. You can’t show everything,” Raselas added.
As the film tried to show many people don’t know who Abebe was, a man who was seen as immortal and a man from other planet but this film also tried to show how human he was and also his strength in life.
“We tried to show the film not in a conventional way, we picked moments, scenes that matters in tellin his story in a unique way. From all the tournaments he did Norway was different for Abebe, Rome and Tokyo were easier for him com. It was a place where he won his own battle and it was the first time he was seen crying.”
The film was shot in Ethiopia, Norway, and Bulgaria and some of the scenes, especially the landscapes were breathtaking and, more than that, after finishing the film, there is still the music in you.
Composed by the renowned lead guitarist Girum Mezmur, the music highlights the film, taking you back to the 1960s like a time machine.
Raselas studied script writing and understanding movies. Apart from studying film the passion and the urge to tell story, the love he had for Abebe and the different travels helped him to make a film which is not Hollywood, but his own original style.
“I traveled for a while, living with strangers without the language and eating food that you never tried. It was all a good experience for me putting me in perspectives about life,” said Raselas.
Finishing the film by itself made him happy but more than that doing his long-awaited dream and also telling Ethiopian history to the rest of the world added all into him.
“I am still happy with the results but what will make me happy is when the whole world sees it,” added Raselas.
But the process was not smooth, as Raselas says, there were funding problems where they had to search for financiers and convince people to believe in the film was the hardest part and there were times where they were forced to change the script to fit the structure they had.
“We had to go five decades back and how life was then, the emotions they had and we had to look in detail. The production was easier and people from here like Meseret Argaw and Eskinder Birhanu helped us a lot.”
The film was critically acclaimed by many fans and received many awards like Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Berkshires, Stockholm, Nashville, Minneapolis, Tariffa (Spain), were some of the places from which it got awards. Of all the places, Edinburgh highlights the city where they got the title of ‘Best of fest’ from 300 films.
“It was overwhelming in Edinburgh. After that we started getting coverage in different media and we participated in different film festivals,” said Raselas.
Screening it here last week in Ethiopia at the National Theatre was too good to be true for him in front of all those audiences and now has a plan to go all over the continents and tell Abebe’s story.
Raselas finished by saying, “I want to tell Ethiopian stories focusing on our positive sides. All the awards, the comments I have are now a blessing to me and encourages me to do more.”
Finally, Raselas invites people to see the legendary man’s story in Edna mall.
Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie wins the Great North Run
Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie powered to an emphatic victory in his first Great North Run in Gateshead on Sunday.
The two-time Olympic 10,000m champion was unable to threaten the 2005 course record of 59 minutes 05 seconds.
But the marathon world-record holder, 37, surged clear at halfway to win by a huge margin from Kenya's Kiplimo Kimutai in a time of 59:33.
Fellow Ethiopian Berhane Adere won a tough women's race, with British runner Mara Yamauchi fifth.
Gebrselassie was fulfilling a long-time promise made to race chairman Brendan Foster by taking part in the race Read More
Saturday with athlete Haile Gebresellasie
By Hayal Alemayehu
Athlete Haile Gebreselassie usually wakes up around 5:00am in the morning and attends to his daily training routine that starts at 5:30am and ends at 9:00am. On Saturdays, the world-acclaimed athlete prefers to do the training at a site close to his home on the hills of Yeka.
Refreshing himself back from the early hours of training, the world marathon record holder, who has become one of the influential businesspersons in Ethiopia, visits his ongoing projects, especially the one where the company he co-founded is building a seven-storey complex. (The building will have a show room for the Hyundai cars the athlete imports from South Korea and distributes them to the local market. It will also have multi-purpose offices and spare parts shops.)
Haile will then go to his main office located close to the Bole International Airport, on the 11-storey structure he built in front of his own Alem Cenema. After taking care of pending office paperwork, the athlete will go to a spacious meeting hall where he attends a board meeting
(of his company) on Saturdays.
As the meeting winds up before 1:00pm as usual, Haile will go home for lunch with his family. His delicacy for Saturday is nothing other than raw meet, a popular traditional food in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the athlete is no longer enjoying it as he used to. “I like to eat raw meet especially on Saturdays,” he says. “Unfortunately, I usually get sick when I eat it. I have almost stopped eating raw meet as I used to; but I will still go for a bite or two.”
Although his company is closed on Saturday afternoons, Haile will, taking a few minutes of rest after lunch, ride back to office for some pending paperwork and later go to project sites. But that was not the norm for the “world’s finest athlete” several years ago. After lunch, Haile used to sleep for over two hours in order to get relief from the exhaustive, early hours of training and get ready for the late hour exercise that starts at 4:00pm and ends around 6:00pm. No more is this the case.
“I used to sleep after lunch,” Haile says. “But that was long ago. With all the activities I am now engaged in, there is no time for a day-time sleep. The time is not enough.”
After visiting project sites, the athlete will go back for the usual late-hour training. Around 7:30pm, Haile will go home and spend some time with his family. He likes to read newspapers and, if time is on his side, the athlete likes to watch latest movies at home before calling it a day and falling in the arms of Morpheus.
Great ideas translated in to reality to make "Ethiopian Great Run" a success.
With Nerurkar at the helm, the event has become Africa’s biggest road race, attracting over 35,000 participants and spawning numerous other mass-participation events that have been staged throughout Ethiopia.
Richard Nerurkar, 46, has been in Addis since May 2001. Married to Gail, an epidemiologist, Richard has two children with Ethiopian names. His daughter Almaz is 9 years old while his son Lukas is 6 years old. He is a professional who contributed greatly to the emergence and steady progress of the Great Ethiopian Run.
You have been in Addis just over 9 years. What are the reasons that brought you to Addis?
My international athletic career was coming to an end during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. By then we began looking for an opportunity to use our skills and experience in Africa and to change our life style in Britain. I stayed for some time in Kenya. We came here for a short visit. Gail got an opportunity to teach at the Addis Ababa University department of community health. Now it is an independent school of public health. Originally it was under the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University. There are a number of other reasons for us to come here. After 2000 I was looking to do something different. If you ask a lot of foreigners why they come to Ethiopia they may tell you they were offered a job by Oxfam, Save the Children, UNICEF, the German Embassy or my company told me to go and work in Addis Ababa. In our case we came here because of our independent decision. Our motivation to come here was different.
Have you worked at the British Embassy?
Never.
Did you know personally Haile Gebre Selassie before you came to Addis Ababa?
Yes, Haile is an international athlete. My career began in 1989 and came to a halt in 2000. We were together in a number of international championship. I was in Barcelona Olympics while Haile first appeared in Atlanta Olympics. As a senior Athlete, Haile’s first run was in Stuttgart in 1993. That same year I started running marathons. We didn’t compete in the same race. I met him first in Stuttgart. Three months after I came to Ethiopia I participated in the half marathon at Sendfa. Haile ran and obviously won that event. I finished way back. I actually stopped competing at that time. People strongly believe that you are the architect of the Great Ethiopian Run, the first African road race and an event which draws 35,000 participants. Great Ethiopian Run (GER) came in to being not because of one individual. There are lots of individuals who are involved. I would add that it would not have started had I not come to Addis with my family. But it was not me alone to have an idea of staging a great run. They had the idea but needed encouragement to go forward. Obviously Haile was one of those people. The British Ambassador to Ethiopia at that time also wants this idea to be implemented. I arrived at the right time to fix things in 2001.
So you take the credit for the implementation of that idea.
Yes and no. Let me elaborate a bit. A country like Ethiopia has lots of people who have the ideas. Relatively, it is easy to have an idea. It is often hard making things happen. People in Britain suggested that it is good if Ethiopia has its own great run. Ideas are one thing. Implementing them is another. I would not take all the credit for this to happen. The GER would not take place without Haile’s involvement. It is true that I put in a lot of hours. But Haile’s great name and fame and the respectability that he enjoyed in the country and elsewhere in the world had immense contribution to stage the first international great run in Ethiopia ten years ago.
The Great Ethiopian Run takes place in November and usually the date is fixed. How do you select that date?
The funny thing is it was fixed a little bit by random. In the early part of January 2010 I was in London. I talked with people who organize the North Run. I came to know how they organize that big race. In March 2001 I came to Addis Ababa to do something. By then we met officials at the Ethiopian Athletics Federation and the British Ambassador. Then in May 2001 my wife and I moved to Addis. The rainy season is not good for staging big open air events. So we agreed to make it after the rainy season. We had to also find and make some sponsorship deals. This needed time. To coordinate all this November was an ideal month to stage Ethiopia’s first mass participation race. But sadly enough the first race took place in the middle of the Ramadan. This is a good example to correct mistakes. You have to understand what life is in Ethiopia. We staged it in the middle of Ramadan. We did not repeat that mistake. Another reason for setting the date in November was because Ethiopian distance runners do not have international competitions.
You have been actively involved in the GER for the last 10 years. What was special or disappointing in connection to the GER?
It is a privilege for me to work here. I really am grateful for this opportunity. There were a number of negatives and lots of suspicion at the initial stage. The suspicion came particularly from the people of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) which took us many years to overcome. They needed a lot of assurance that I was working for the good of the country and the benefit of the Ethiopian Athletics development. They thought I was involved for commercial purposes. Now we have a very good relationship with EAF. We get support from the EAF President Bisrat and people behind her also are cooperative. The situation today is very different from the initial period. In addition to the suspicion there is a lot of bureaucracy in this country. People who come from the west must overcome these problems. The serious problem was that sport marketing was not known. Staging a big event requires marketing. It has to be publicized. We faced other problems. Here you have the culture to organize events at the last minute. It is true you can organize at the last minute. However, organization that involves international bodies, international guests and athletes requires planning in advance and publicity well ahead of the event. There is a lack of understanding about organizing large international events. We faced that problem during the Ethiopian Millennium in 2008. So we were forced to reschedule our program time and again. That was simply because there was a lack of understanding.
At the initial stage there was an agreement between the EAF and your organization, GER, which is a non-profit. You agreed to give money that was generated through the race for the construction of the Sendafa Athletics Village after covering your expenses. And you gave away a certain amount of money. Is that agreement still in force?
The hard fact is that in the last nine years we have given to EAF around 850, 000 birr. The money went in to the federation’s account. I think it has not been used for the construction of the village because it never materialized. We gave them some money but we didn’t give them a lot of money. The money was given during the first three years. The main problem is that the project of constructing the Sendafa village never materialized. So we could have done more. Obviously the biggest benefactor of staging the international mass participating race is EFA. That was why in 2004 the EFA told us to continue the race to build the country’s image. The EFA said to us openly look you promised us to give money for the construction of the centre, but we can see its advantage beyond that. So the EFA concluded that we just go ahead and do it well. I think in 2004 the EFA realized that the centre will not materialize. So that we dropped that initial agreement and began carrying out the race to benefit the federation, the athletes and Ethiopia.
In what sense also the EFA gets the benefits from this race?
EFA cooperates with us because they benefit in many ways. It is easy for the federation to say no at the initial stage to Haile and me. The benefits have been seen with progress of the event. The number of participants went up to 35,000. Attracting such a huge number of mass participants in itself is a great achievement for the federation. They understood our motivation and their benefits.
Ethiopia doesn’t have athletics village. As a professional do you think this is a big minus for Ethiopian athletics? What do you recommend?
It is true that the country has the potential. In the last ten or so years the country has shown that potential. In terms of Ethiopian athletes we don’t talk of potential at this time. Now we talk about achievements. For the last 50 years since the time of Abebe Bikila Ethiopian athletes are top in the international arena. To achieve that high what is required is a lot of commitment of the individual athlete. Having the centre is helpful. But without the hard work and commitment the centre won’t make you achieve big. The construction of the village also requires a lot of individual commitment. Take for instance the Haile Hawassa hotel. It was completed in accordance to the plan. How did it happen? Obviously Haile has good financial resources. But also Haile had a very strong commitment to see that happen. He follows the project closely. Because of his commitment to see that hotel opened it has happened. So for any project to have the commitment of people is crucial. What is important is not only financial resources but also human commitment, the desire of individuals to see the project materialize.
If you are asked to blame some one for the failure of the construction of
the Village for over ten years, whom do you blame?
I don’t blame any one. I don’t like the blame game. I go to the fact that it is often hard for Ethiopians to implement a project. If you really want that to happen you have to be committed. There are lots of obstacles. You must have committed individuals who have the skills to carry out that project. You have successful projects such as the construction of hydro electric dams that involve the commitment of thousands of people. The government is also committed. Here you see a strong coalition of people. You have to be committed and make a coalition equal to that one to construct the village. Yes, projects start with one or two individuals. But you have to build a team for a successful completion.
Let us go to your home land. After Beijing was awarded the Olympics for nearly 8 years the international media had been focusing on the progress of the construction of stadiums, hotels and infrastructure. Every day there was news about Beijing in the run up to the Olympics. Concerning the London Olympics all those loud mouths are zipped. In your eyes are the Londoners doing fine or are they facing problems?
Every Olympics is different. The Beijing Olympics was pretty excellent. And every Olympics has its own problems and peculiarities. I am sure the London Olympics will be wonderful games. Why I say that is that Britain has a track record in staging big international events and sports competitions successfully. If you see only the last events Commonwealth Games, European and World Championships were staged. And all of them were well organized. The British public is very supportive and enthusiastic. The government is behind this grand event. We know that in the western world the media are critical in most cases. But in this case they are very, very positive. And things will be ready on time. If there was a default the critical papers would not hesitate to expose it. So the media has little to complain about the preparation so far. Britain collected a record 40 medals in Beijing. We are going to better that achievement. It will be a special game but different from Beijing.
Do you think it will be more colorful than Beijing?
I don’t think it is important to say if it is more colorful. It is special and great in its own way. If I tell you my own experience, I was in Barcelona in 1992. I have a good memory of it. It had a Spanish touch specifically the Catalan touch. Sydney Olympics was Unique. Athens had its own wonderful color. So did China. I believe London will produce its own unique Olympics. Any final comment?
I think of the future of GER. This mass participation race reached a high level. Maintaining such a high level is important. I am hopeful that the GER will continue to serve its purpose. That means the institution will continue as strong as it is now after I leave for U.K.
Interviewed by Capital’s Solomon Bekele
website optimized by
