ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Africa's largest road race, the Great Ethiopian Run (GER) will have a total of 47,500 participants, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.
Speaking to Xinhua, Hilina Negussie, GER's Senior Sales and Marketing Officer, said the 10kms race which will be held on Sunday, November 18, is part of GER's efforts to promote healthy lifestyle and running among the Ethiopian public.
"The GER 2018 will have 44,000 adult runners and 3,500 child runners and for the first time feature a membership package for selected runners, offering pre-race physical exercise training programs and networking opportunities with other runners." said Negussie.
Negussie said GER expects to see 500 foreign runners at the 10kms race, with already 60 runners from China alone having confirmed they will participate in the athletics event.
Negussie further said in a bid to ensure there is no repeat of the tragic events of GER 2017 edition which saw two runners die of heart stroke, the athletics event organizers will deploy emergency medical services staff at every 500 meters of the run.
The 10 kms Great Ethiopian Run was started in 2001 by Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebreselassie as part of his efforts to turn running from an elite sport stars sports into a hobby of the masses.
