Great Ethiopian Run
Discussion
Just got back from a week altitude training leading up to the GER, will gradually add stuff to the thread - decided not to put on the runnning thread as it might get too big.
Supposed to be 42000 starters in the mass run and a few hundred in the Elite who went off an hour earlier.
About 36000 finishers, many did the whole route, some clearly didn't, maybe joined in at the point it went near home, maybe took a short cut!
People were arrested the week before for making fake shirts - there are no race numbers, the shirt gets you past the police security cordons that block the roads leading to Meskel Square and start.
To start with, here's what start looks like.
..and the other way. The road ahead and to the right and to the left were all rammed!
Some of our group including Hannah Walker, front, left of centre who has the parkrun women's record at 15:55
If you're trying to race it, it could be described as challenging! 2500m altitude, hot, hilly route, very busy and lots of too slow runners who started too far forward, who'd believe it!
I did about 1:01 compared to a sea level pb of 47:55. I wouldn't recommend it to enter as a race, but as an experience it's absolutely amazing!
Gratuitous PH type photo of some other runners
Supposed to be 42000 starters in the mass run and a few hundred in the Elite who went off an hour earlier.
About 36000 finishers, many did the whole route, some clearly didn't, maybe joined in at the point it went near home, maybe took a short cut!
People were arrested the week before for making fake shirts - there are no race numbers, the shirt gets you past the police security cordons that block the roads leading to Meskel Square and start.
To start with, here's what start looks like.
..and the other way. The road ahead and to the right and to the left were all rammed!
Some of our group including Hannah Walker, front, left of centre who has the parkrun women's record at 15:55
If you're trying to race it, it could be described as challenging! 2500m altitude, hot, hilly route, very busy and lots of too slow runners who started too far forward, who'd believe it!
I did about 1:01 compared to a sea level pb of 47:55. I wouldn't recommend it to enter as a race, but as an experience it's absolutely amazing!
Gratuitous PH type photo of some other runners
Now that's one helluva running adventure!
Some friends of mine from the Birmingham Running & Triathlon Club won the club prize to attend the event several years ago via the Great Run Series and got to meet Haile Gebrselassie, though half the group picked up food poisoning beforehand and weren't able to run!
Do you feel like you've benefitted from the exposure to altitude?
Some friends of mine from the Birmingham Running & Triathlon Club won the club prize to attend the event several years ago via the Great Run Series and got to meet Haile Gebrselassie, though half the group picked up food poisoning beforehand and weren't able to run!
Do you feel like you've benefitted from the exposure to altitude?
Can't say yet if the altitude was any advantage, have come home with a cold so can't do any hard running, hoping it's cleared by Saturday and I can go for a parkrun PB. There should also be some advantage from running nearly every day as well as the altitude, I hope.
Did we meet Haile
Here's our group dancing with him at the post race party.
and me saying goodbye
As well as being the biggest star athlete that Ethiopia has produced, he's also the nicest, coolest man you could hope to meet
Did we meet Haile
Here's our group dancing with him at the post race party.
and me saying goodbye
As well as being the biggest star athlete that Ethiopia has produced, he's also the nicest, coolest man you could hope to meet
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