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The Great Ethiopian Run is 'great' because of the
success of Ethiopia's athletes - and not the other
way round. There were many great Ethiopian athletes
long before the idea of staging a 'Great Run' in
Ethiopia was conceived - and even if that first race
had never taken place, many great athletes would be
treading the same path of success taken by their
predecessors.
It was as a result of past athletic
achievements that the idea for staging Ethiopia's
first international mass-participation road race
back in 2001 was born, as a way of reflecting in
some way what is great and truly world class about
Ethiopia. It did not seem right that Ethiopia as a
land of runners did not have a competition of its
own known to the outside world.
The Great Ethiopian Run is international - both in
terms of the publicity it generates, and its
participants. It is a mass race - enjoyed not just
by the country's best and most highly motivated
runners, but also by the wider public. It has also
become an annual event, a part of the country's
sporting and cultural calendar.
This description also goes some way to explaining
why Ethiopia needs such a race. The event is good
for publicity, is special because of its
participation and necessary for what it might
achieve in the long term.
If you believe in the power and importance of
publicity, Ethiopia needs the Great Ethiopian Run
because of the attention it brings to the country. A
good deal of that publicity comes from the coverage
the race receives on international television.
Perhaps no less significant is the publicity passed
on by word of mouth through the many individuals who
come to the race from abroad, whether as
participants (both elite and non-elite), guests or
as representatives of sport management and
international media agencies.
Sport - and particularly mass-participation events -
has the ability to bring together people in a
peaceful and often uplifting way. Among the
participants in next Sunday's (November 25) Great
Ethiopian Run will be countless groups of runners
from different organisations working throughout the
city and beyond who will join for one common
purpose; the run will bring together communities
from different parts of the country; and individuals
of many different nationalities will unite for the
fun and fulfilment of participating in a running
competition.
Success in sports opens many doors. Likewise, the
success of the Great Ethiopian Run can bring
investment and other economic benefits to the
country. The staging of the 16th African Athletics
Championships in Addis Abeba in May 2008 is a
reflection of how the outside world perceives not
only Ethiopia's great athletes, but the country's
organisational capacity to stage big international
events.
On the world stage, athletics has for some time been
viewed as a professional pursuit. For Ethiopia to
take hold fully of opportunities presented by the
commercialisation of the sport, Ethiopia needs to
adopt a more businesslike approach to the way it
administers the sport and stages its events. The
Great Ethiopian Run is playing its part in
developing this capacity.
This coming week in the run-up to the Seventh
Edition of the Great Ethiopian Run, a special
photographic exhibition of Ethiopia's champion
athletes is taking place at the National Museum. A
visit to this exhibition will remind you of the
long-running tradition of running in this country;
and might also inspire you to dig out your T-shirt
and join the celebrations taking place in Meskel
Square next weekend.
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