Great Ethiopian Run 2014: Route, Course Map, Times, Event Details

Birthplace of many of the best runners of all time, Ethiopia will host the 14th edition of its 10km Great Run on Sunday with 40,000 participants set to take to the streets of Addis Ababa.

The 2014 Great Ethiopian Run will clear the capital's streets of its usual traffic and replace it with participants hoping to battle the 8000ft altitude and post as good a time as possible.

It is the biggest running event in Africa and will see 500 elite runners trying to follow in the footsteps of Ethiopian legend and inaugural winner in 2001, Haile Gebrselassie.

Gebrselassie also helped envision the event and continues as chairman, and he sees the Great Ethiopian Run as a celebration, per ethiopianrun.org:

"

Running events bring people together. None more so than The Great Ethiopian Run, Africa’s biggest road race. The international 10k race is not only a running event, but also a celebration. Once you have participated in our race, we are certain that you will want to be part of it again.  

"

Certainly it is a challenge with the altitude and the number of runners taking part, but it will no doubt be undertaken in good spirits by all those involved.

Here is the schedule for the race which takes place on Sunday, Nov 23:

Time	Stage
9 a.m.	Start of Great Ethiopian Run for 40,000 participants
9:20 a.m.	Elite women into finish
9:30 a.m.	Elite men into finish
9:50 a.m.	1st male ambassador
10:05 a.m.	1st female ambassador
10:15 a.m.	Prize Presentations
11 a.m.	End

The race starts and finishes at the Jan Meda Recreation ground, as it did in 2013 when Atsedu Tsegay came home as winner in a time of 29:21.

A full map of the course route can be found here.

There will be live music being played all the way around the course, creating a carnival atmosphere as the thousands of runners make their way towards the end of a gruelling challenge.

Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press

The route takes in the Russian and British embassies along the straight opening 3km as well as Shola Market before doing an about-turn at the Diaspora Roundabout.

After the next long stretch, runners will then be greeted by the unique shower-stop to cool off just before the 7km mark, with Kebena Roundabout then coming before the much-awaited finish.

The elevation increases towards the end of the race, making for a challenging finish, but the sense of achievement will likely be all the better after such a gruelling latter stage. 

In a continent which has produced the best of the best in terms of long-distance running, the Great Ethiopian Run stands as its biggest event, and the mood will certainly be celebratory in Addis Ababa come Sunday.