Great Ethiopian Race, part 1

For the past nine years, Addis Ababa has held the “Great Ethiopian Run.” Kevin came across this fact before we moved here however we didn’t sign up immediately because we though a) all Ethiopians run way faster than us and b) we won’t be acclimated to the altitude to be able to run a 10K. Well, we were partially right. We aren’t in shape to run a 10K. However, we found out that not everyone runs this “race” and there are plenty of walkers. So, we signed up.

We signed up as non-residents (all the resident slots were full and officially we’re not residents) and along with paying a higher price, we were invited to a pre-race pasta party. People from all over Europe and the US were there to eat pasta and mingle with other running enthusiasts. We sat by a man from England who is an official race measurer and a doctor from Florida whose husband owns a running store.

Since moving to Ethiopia, we have learned a bit more about one world-famous runner: Haile Gebreselassie. He lives in Addis Ababa, has broken 26 world records, won many medals, and holds the record currently for the fastest marathon. We knew there was a chance he might be at this dinner and sure enough, he showed up! In addition, the world’s fastest female marathoner, Paula Radcliffe, from the UK, also had been invited. They shared a few words and we did our best to snap pictures of them. Something came over us and we decided to try to get a picture with them—and we were successful! Even though I didn’t know much about either of these athletes before that evening, we were so very excited to be able to stand next to them and have our picture taken.

After the dinner, we decided to stop by Kaldi’s (Ethiopian Starbucks) for some evening dessert and coffee before heading back home. We sat in comfy Starbucks-like chairs and reflected on our excitement from the evening. We then found a taxi home and once arriving there I reached in to my purse to find my camera (with the precious pictures on it). It wasn’t in there. Oh, no.

Our option was to race back to the Kaldi’s as fast as possible to see if the camera was still there. By now, it was around 9:30pm. We grabbed the first form of transportation we could find: a mini-bus. From the mini-bus, we took a taxi. Driving up to the Kaldi’s we could see that it was dark. Closed. We were looking in the windows to see if we could see the camera when a security guard told us to stop. The taxi driver got out and the four of us tried to communicate the issue: our camera is in there and we need it back. The guard pulled out his cell phone and gave us a number. At first we thought it was the phone number for the store, but as we were driving back in the taxi, I thought, maybe it’s the owner’s cell phone so let’s try calling it now rather than in the morning. Kevin called the number and again, with the help of the taxi driver, we communicated the issue and found out they opened at 8am the next morning so we could go by there at that time.

After an unrestful night of sleep, we prepared for the race and waited for our language instructor, Dawit, who was going with us, to arrive. When he did, we explained the issue and took a taxi back to Kaldi’s once again. The owner there greeted us and asked us what kind of camera we had left. We were so grateful for his thoroughness. He then went to the back and brought out the camera! I was sooooo relieved! Then, onto the Great Ethiopian race with camera in hand!