22 November, 2008
RAB athletes join European 5000m silver medallist Mo Farah and Beijing Olympic Marathon fourth placer, Deriba Merga in the elite entries of the Toyota Great Ethiopian Run: 23 November 2008
On 23 November, live on Ethiopian National television, world marathon record holder Haile Gebreselassie will start the 8th Great Ethiopian Run. The elite field is led by Deriba Merga, the Beijing Olympic Marathon fourth placer who returned to Addis Ababa after having just won last Sunday’s Delhi Half Marathon in an impressive 59:15. Mo Farah, the 25-year-old Somalia-born British European 5,000m silver medalist will be a strong favorite also. He has spent the last 4 weeks in Addis Ababa taking full advantage of the optimal 8,200 feet training environment. World Championships 3,000m steeplechase fourth-placer Moha-mmed Mustafa of Sweden, as well as Kenyan internationals Glibert Yego and Raymond Tanui, make the field one of the strongest yet in the races history. Added to the race are 13 athletes associated with Running Across Borders. This is a great opportunity for these athletes to experience a truly world-class competition.
While the GER is recognized as the premier 10km race in East Africa attracting some of the best athletes in the world, alongside them will be 32,000 other runners.
Even before Running Across Borders was officially established we had made contact with Richard Nerurkar, the race organizer of the GER, about the possibility of talented but so far unrecognized athletes to participate in the 10km race. He has granted the five best athletes with elite starting positions. The other eight have been entered in the mass start, but will line up near the front and expect to be competitive as well. These eight athletes have been entered as charity runners for I’m running for a child, and the 1600 ETB paid by Running Across Borders for their entry fees will go toward this worthy cause.
News
This years GER features a special campaign entitled ‘I’m running for a child’ which highlights the work of organisations helping orphans and vulnerable children living in Addis and raises funds to support their work as part of the Dream Campaign 2008. This campaign has raised 60,000 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) through donations from organisations and individuals. The campaign is being jointly run by UNICEF and the Great Ethiopian Run and this year funds will be distributed to four different groups: Artist for Charity, Our Fathers Kitchen, Yezelalem Minch and AHOPE Ethiopia. Running Across Borders appreciates GER’s mission of using running for a humanitarian purpose, as it reflects the goals of our own mission.
EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES TO EAST AFRICAN YOUTH THROUGH RUNNING
Running Across Borders
