News
17 September, 2008

RAB Training Camp is officially open in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
On Wednesday, Running Across Borders co-director and coach Garrett Ash announced the opening of the organization's sponsored training camp. The training camp accomplishes two of the major goals of RAB: it gives Ethiopian athletes much needed accomodation and facilities, and it also gives foreign athletes visiting the camp the chance to experience the physical and socio-cultural aspects of Ethiopia that make it such an optimal environment for training.
In terms of accomodation, the camp is outfitted with three double bedrooms, as well as a small dormitory. The sleeping capacity is around 8 athletes.
In terms of facilities, the camp has good transportation links to the FitZone gym, which boasts a full range of western-standard fitness and strength-training equipment, as well as track facilities at Addis Ababa Stadium. By January 2009, Ash plans to begin outfitting the camp with its own strength-training equipment.
The best facility of all, however, is one for which Running Across Borders can claim no credit: the physical environment of Addis Ababa. 2500m of altitude, natural training surfaces, and long and frequent inclines are all known to be beneficial to the training of long-distance athletes. Put all these things together in the same place, and one begins to understand why so many foreign athletes spend 1000-2000 USD of airfare per trip to come here for a few weeks of training.
The camp is situated steps from the legendary Ararat forest, which is a neighborhood that is home to many of the legendary Ethiopian athletes as well. In addition, it provides its athletes with transport to a multitude of asphalt, dirt, and forest training venues throughout the city. These options include other legendary places like Sulutaa road and Entoto Mountain.
All athletes living in the camp, foreign and Ethiopian, eat a diet that is tailored to meet ideal specifications for an endurance athlete. Of course, designing such a regime doesn't require much deviation from the traditional Ethiopian cuisine. Ethiopian people have always eaten a diet rich in carbohydrates and moderate in fat and protein, which is exactly what endurance athletes need.
"One of the things I like the most about being here is that I can just eat the same things as everyone else around me, and know that it is the right thing for my training," said Ash. "If I did that back home in the USA I would be eating foods that were way too heavy, and not getting enough carbohydrates."
Accordingly, the cooking is left to the Ethiopians, some of whom will perform culinary duties for the camp as their day-job. Additionally, others of the Ethiopians are working as cleaning staff, administrative assistants to Running Across Borders, and household maitenance and repair specialists for the camp.
"As is clear from our expanded mission statement,  Running Across Borders wants to develop Ethiopian athletes to the height of their abilities as runners, but we also want to provide them with employment and educational opportunities. Of all the people in this world who call themselves 'professional runners,' there's such a tiny percentage who truly just run. Out of both financial necessity and the desire to live a fulfilling life, most athletes want to accomplish something with the non-running time in their lives. We want to give these Ethiopians such opportunities," said Ash. 
A typical daily routine at the camp involves rising and setting out for the main training session at 6am. This session could be 40 minutes for a school-aged athlete on an easy day, up to 3 hours for an open-level marathon athlete doing his long run. Most days it is somewhere in between. After returning, the athletes eat a quick snack such as bread and peanut butter, before the cooks set at the task of preparing breakfast. Over the course of the day, the athletes all attend to the responsibilities associated with their jobs. They take a break to eat lunch, and if they schedule their time efficiently they can also fit in a nap. At approximately 6pm they go out for the second run of the day: 20-40 minutes of easy running in the forest, finishing with some strides at the end. Another quick snack, followed by dinner prepared by the cooks, and soon it is off to bed, in preparation for more hard training tomorrow.
For visiting foreign athletes, the training routine proves to be exceptionally demanding compared with the normal regimes they follow at home. David Alcock, a 1:10 half-marathon runner, commented after returning home to London: "Those 90 minute runs in Addis are actually harder than running a flat 20 [miles] here [in London] in terms of effort. I'd need sleep after a 90min run out there, but have finished today I don't feel like I've run at all." Accordingly, in the Addis training camp most of the foreign athletes can be caught napping most of the day, while the Ethiopians are working!
Ash believes that the demands of the training have as much to do with the companionship as they do with the location. "The level of psychological focus these guys exhibit is incredible. I push myself so much harder trying to keep up with them than I do training alone back in the US."
Currently, two Ethiopian athletes are employed and supported by the camp. Yared Hailesilassie, a 26-year-old aspiring Olympian, is the camp's head chef, drawing on experience from his pre-running days when he worked as a chef in a patisserie. Gudissa Toloosa, a school runner, does double duty as both an administrative assistant for Running Across Borders and head cleaning supervisor for the camp. In return for their duties, the athletes receive all the room, board, and training assistance benefits of living in the camp, as well as small stipends.
In April of 2009, Running Across Borders plans to move the camp to a larger facility, that could support up to 10 Ethiopian athletes, and a similar number of foreign visitors.