The 20th edition of the Great Ethiopian Run (GER) will be held in Addis Ababa on March 26, 2023. Around 15,000 people are anticipated to attend the event to compete, including over 200 world-class athletes.
The race is officially sponsored by Safaricom and dubbed “Safaricom’s First Women’s 5K Race.”
One of GER’s annual races, the 5km race, has been one of the best pre-competition trials for several elite athletes, with a total of 50,000 birr will be awarded to the victor.
Tsege Geberselama, an Ethiopian long-distance runner, is among the notable athletes competing this year. A month after winning silver at the 2023 World Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, Australia, Tsege hopes to repeat as champion.
She has managed to improve her track time to 14:43.90 after winning the race three years ago in the course record time of 15:19.50. In October of last year, she ran the Valencia Half Marathon, finishing second in 1:05:46.
Tolera Dinka, Tsege’s coach, says that she has been training not only to win the race but also to break the course record.
The competition on Sunday is expected to be more difficult than any previous competition if the roster of athletes competing is any indication.
Medina Issa, silver medalist in the Australian junior cross-country race, and world junior 5000m champion, will be competing alongside Tsege. This will be her first time participating in such a competition.
Medina’s best time for the distance was 14:53, which she ran in a race last year. She won the women’s race and was followed by three-time winner Sembre Teferi.
Meanwhile, Meleknat Wudu (14:54), the winner of the Great Run of Ethiopia 10K race, and Foten Tesfay, who is in good form, are two of the athletes expected to compete for medals at the Colombia U20 World Athletics Championships following Medina Isa.
Anchialem Haimanot, Fatau Zerai, and Zerfe Worku, the winners of the 2023 Mumbai Marathon, are also among the competitors.
The women-only 5K race in Addis Ababa was started in 2004, the same year as the Athens Olympics, to honor Ethiopia’s best female athletes. It also sought to encourage broader shifts in women’s economic and social standing in Ethiopia. Meseret Defar, who has won two gold medals at the Olympics for Ethiopia, is the event’s ambassador.
“Since entering the Ethiopian market, Safaricom has worked hard to advocate for women’s empowerment, and our collaboration with them is a perfect fit. We are delighted to have such a committed partner as our title sponsor,” Dagmwit Amare, GER general manager, said.
To help “make running a lifestyle for everyone,” GER is offering a four-week fitness challenge to anyone interested in getting in shape to run. Women First is now one of the largest women-only races in all of Africa, and the largest in Ethiopia.
The race is traditionally held around the time of International Women’s Day on March 8th. On March 13, 2022, the organizers hosted the 19th event, which attracted a then-record 10,000 runners. Each year, this race publicizes important social messages that focus on women’s empowerment as well as their achievements.
The United Nations in Ethiopia partnered with the GER for the 5K Women First Run in order to address the gender digital divide and ensure digital safety, which is critical to paving the way for them to be connected, empowered, and safe.
In line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it hopes to make the world a more equitable, welcoming place where everyone can thrive.
