Great Ethiopian Run 10K

The Great Ethiopian Run 10K is Ethiopia's flagship road race and the largest mass-participation running event in Africa, held every year on the streets of Addis Ababa. Founded in 2001 by Olympic and world champion Haile Gebrselassie together with Peter Middlebrook and Abi Masefield, the race has grown from roughly 10,000 entrants at its first edition to more than 45,000 runners today, and 2026 marks its 26th running, with the 25th anniversary edition (2025) celebrated with fully digital registration through Telebirr and the Dashen Bank Superapp. The race is AIMS-registered and starts and finishes at Meskel Square in central Addis Ababa, looping through the city's hilly streets at an altitude of roughly 2,350 meters (7,700 feet), which makes the course notably demanding despite the flat-sounding 10 km distance. Alongside the international 10 km race, the event includes a 5 km women-only race. Runners line up in two color-coded start waves by predicted finish time, and the late-November date falls during Ethiopia's cool, dry season. The race has carried different title sponsors over the years, including TotalEnergies, Sofi Malt, and, for the 2026 edition, Bank of America, while its organizing entity is Great Ethiopian Run Events PLC. Local entry fees for the most recent (2025) edition were 790 Ethiopian birr (ETB) for the Fun Wave and 950 ETB for the Fast Wave; international participants have historically paid roughly $90 USD, though official 2026 pricing has not been published yet.