News of Note: 23 November - 30 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Crazy about running – facts and figures from the 2009 Ethiopian Airlines Great Ethiopian Run (24 November 2009) - A number of records were broken at this year's Great Ethiopian Run, which had three times as many participants as its first year.

Haron Lagat, Alemtsehay Misganaw Win 73rd Manchester Road Race (26 November 2009) - Ethiopian Alemtsehay Misganaw wins the women's race, while Kenyan Haron Lagat takes the men's race.

Comfortable victories for Gebremariam and Masai in Soria (29 November 2009) - Reigning men's World Cross Country champion Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam wins at the Cross Internacional de Soria.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gebremariam hopes for two victories in a row in Soria (27 November 2009)
• OTHER NEWS: Ethiopia's Gebre-Egziabher will race Edinburgh Cross Country

Fekadu and Deska complete Ethiopian double in Nigerian mountain race (29 November 2009) - Ethiopians Habtamu Fekadu and Mamitu Deska win the 2009 Obudu Ranch Mountain race in Nigeria. Ethiopians Mastawet Tufa and Meselech Hileyesus took second and third in the women's race.

Kipruto holds off Kosgei by a second in Florence (29 November 2009) - Results of the 26th Florence Marathon. Kenya takes first and second in the men's race, with Ethiopian Assefa Reta Girma taking third.

• PREVIOUS NEWS: Record field of 10,000 runners the new barrier for Kosgei to clear – Florence Marathon, PREVIEW (26 November 2009)
• PREVIOUS NEWS: Ethiopian duo target success in Florence Marathon (26 November 2009)

Other interesting running news:

Altitude training may take you to new heights

He might not yet be a household name, but Wanjiru can change running forever

News of Note: 16 November - 22 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Jelila and Regassa win 10km in Addis Ababa (22 November 2009) - Koreni Jelila and Tilahun Regassa both won in new course records at the Ethiopian Airlines 2009 Great Ethiopian Run 10km.

Previous Coverage:

• Defending champion Chala Dechasa leads list of entries for men’s race- Great Ethiopian Run PREVIEW (18 November 2009)
• G. Dibaba the favorite in women’s race –GREAT ETHIOPIAN RUN PREVIEW (19 November 2009)

Bolt and Richards are World Athletes of the Year – 2009 World Athletics Gala (22 November 2009) -Jamaican Usain Bolt and American Sanya Richards named the Male and Female World Athletes of the Year 2009.

Chane and Jelila grab shock victories in Sendafa XC (16 November 2009) - Abera Chane beat favorite Imane Merga, who finished fourth; Koreni Jelila was victorious over favorite Sule Utura, who finished third.

Former Olympic champion leads Ethiopian team in Obudu (18 November 2009) - Accomplished long distance runner Meseret Defar will run the Obudu International Mountain Race and lead the Ethiopian runners at the first African mountain running championships.


Ethiopia's Kenenisa voted for 2009 "Heroes of Running" (20 November 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele one of six inspirational individuals chosen for honor by Runner's World magazine.


Gebremariam and Augusto the victors in Oeiras (21 November 2009) - The IAAF Cross Country Permit Season opens with a victory by Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam at the Oeiras Cross Country.

Stars come out as IAAF Diamond League is launched in Monaco (22 November 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele one of 9 IAAF Diamond League Ambassadors. The IAAF Diamond League hopes to see greater frequency of competition between the big names.

Great Ethiopia Run

19 Year old Tilahun Regassa won the men's race and improved the course record by almost 30 seconds. Earlier this month Tilahun had finished 4th in the Delhi half Marathon. Deriba Merga winner of the Delhi half was a DNF in this race. Tilahun has had a great year on road races this year winning numerous races.


In the women's race, 23-year-old Koreni Jelila improved the course record by more than 40 seconds. Koreni was the suprise winner of the Sendafa Crosscountry race last week.

News of Note: 9 November - 15 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Radcliffe comes as guest appearance to 2009 Great Ethiopian Run (10 November 2009) - British runner Paula Radcliffe makes her first trip to Ethiopia, as a guest of the 2009 Great Ethiopian Run taking place on 22 November.

Like An Airline: A Behind-The-Scenes Look Into What It Takes To Set An Elite Marathon Field (10 November 2009) - A look at some of the variables in play leading up to the 2009 ING New York City Marathon, which had an abnormal number of withdrawals.

Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele nominated for IAAF Athlete of the Year (13 November 2009) - Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele is one of the 5 male finalists for IAAF Male Athlete of the Year. The other finalists include Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Tyson Gay of the United States, Steven Hooker of Australia and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.

Men’s course record set in McDonald’s Half Marathon (14 November 2009) - Nicholas Kurgat of Kenya set the course record in the men’s division with a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 2 seconds. Alemtsehay Misganaw, a native of Ethiopia, won the women's division.

Basweti captures second consecutive SunTrust Marathon title (15 November 2009) - Kenyan Jynocel Basweti wins the SunTrust Richmond Marathon.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Men’s champions from 2008 and 2007 highlight SunTrust Richmond Marathon field (14 November 2009) - Defending champion Jynocel Basweti of Kenya and 2007's winner Mohamed Awol of Ethiopia are favorites to win the 32nd annual SunTrust Richmond Marathon

Kenyan men, Russian women dominate field (15 November 2009) - Gilbert Koech of Kenya wins the second annual Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon.

Chane and Jelila win Sendafa cross country meeting (15 November 2009) - Abera Chane and Koreni Jelila win at the kick off of Ethiopia’s domestic cross country season.

Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen! (15 November 2009) - Tirunesh Dibaba broke the women's 15km world record at the Zevenheuvelenloop 15Km in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, clocking 46:28 in her first road race since 2005. Her husband Sileshi Sihine won the men's race in 42:14.

Other interesting running news:

India’s grand old marathon man completes 98th run (9 November 2009) - Ashis Roy, age 77, finished his 98th race in Harrisburg and plans to run his 100th marathon in Mumbai Jan 17, 2010.

News of Note: 2 November - 8 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

2009 ING New York City Marathon - Derartu Tulu wins the NYC Marathon, three years after the birth of her daughter.

• In second comeback, Tulu wins one for her fans (3 November 2009)
• Behind Tulu's Triumph
• A Brief Chat With Meb Keflezighi and Derartu Tulu (3 November 2009)

Gebru and Tesfaye grab 30k victories in Adama (2 November 2009) - Defense club runners Roman Gebru, a relative unknown, and Dereje Tesfaye were the winners of the second annual 30km race organized by the Ethiopian Athletics Federations (EAF) in Adama.

Gebrselassie, Dibaba, and Sihine plan road returns (3 November 2009) - Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie, Tirunesh Dibaba, and Sileshi Sihine have planned returns to road running in November and January.

Gebrselassie Eyes World Record, $1 Million, In Dubai (5 November 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie returns to the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for a third attempt at a world record.

Gebremariam and G. Dibaba secure Ethiopian double in Atapuerca (8 November 2009) - Ethiopian Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam wins the men's 8.760m and Genzebe Dibaba wins the women's 4.835m at the 6th Cross Internacional de Atapuerca.

Local runners dominate Kenyan cross country opener in Machakos (8 November 2009)

Ngetich, Ozaki prevail in ‘Battle of Marathon’ – Athens Marathon report (8 November 2009) - Despite a promising lead, Ethiopian Alemayehu Ameta cracked in the last 5 kilometres to finish fourth. Josephat Kipkirui Ngetich, in only his second marathon, won with the second fastest time in the race's history. Ethiopian Eshetu Degefa came in second in the women's race.

Other interesting running news:

Caster Semenya given unconditional apology from Athletics South Africa

Are marathon times getting faster or not?

Are running records nearing their limits?

Grayson's Erassa has fastest time at cross country championships - High school senior Kirubel Erassa, an Ethiopian native, is the fastest long-distance runner in Georgia.

Derartu Tulu a Class Act

"She ran alongside me and was like, come on, come on. We can do it, we can do it," a disappointed Radcliffe told reporters.

"Even when the girls took off she kind of waited with me a bit. But that's Derartu, She's always been like that."

Tulu support fails to push Radcliffe to marathon win

News of Note: 26 October - 1 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Feyisa Lilesa, first Ethiopian to win Dublin City Marathon (26 October 2009) - 19-year-old Feyisa Lilesa's marathon debut time was just five seconds outside the course record.

Mengistu victory highlights Ethiopian weekend performances (26 October 2009) - Ethiopian Meseret Mengistu wins the Marsellie-Cassis Half marathon in France; Ethiopia cleansweeped the podium in Morocco's Casablanca Marathon.

Ethiopians to take centre stage in New York, Seoul, and Delhi (30 October 2009) - November 1 is a big day for Ethiopian runners, as they compete in top distance running events across the globe.

• New York:

Derartu Tulu Wins as Radcliffe Struggles to Fourth (1 November 2009) - Derartu Tulu becomes the first Ethiopian woman to win the New York City Marathon.

Keflezighi and Tulu triumph in New York

Paula Radcliffe loses out in New York as Derartu Tulu triumphs

Tulu, Petrova, Daunay Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

• Delhi:

Results – Delhi Half Marathon (1 November 2009) - Top ten men’s and women’s results from the 2009 Airtel Delhi Half Marathon — IAAF Gold Label Road Race. Ethiopian Deriba Merga won the men's race, while Kenyan Mary Keitany won the women's race in 1:06:54 - a new course record. Check out Keitany sub-1:07 again, Deriba Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon for more race details.

Previous coverage: Merga, Mergia, and Kebede lead strong Ethiopian contingent for Delhi Half Marathon (29 October 2009)

• Seoul:

Kenyans in dramatic sprint finish (1 November 2009) - Francis Larabal of Kenya wins the 11th JoongAng Seoul Marathon; Lee Sun-young wins the women's race.

Previous coverage: Molla returns to defend Seoul title (30 October 2009)


Other interesting running news:



Foundation Helps Young Ethiopian Women Runners - Girls Gotta Run Foundation provides new shoes for girls in Ethiopia who are training to be runners.



Sub-2:07 marathons reach historic point - Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot runs the 100th sub-2:07 marathon.

The Human Body Is Built for Distance