OLYMPIC ATHLETE SALLY GUNNELL GOES THE DISTANCE IN ETHIOPIA FOR ACTIONAID
Olympic hurdler tries her hand at long-distance running in Africa’s biggest run as UK marks six months until the London 2012 Olympics
In the week marking just six months to go until the London 2012 Olympics, former Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell tells of her experience taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run for anti-poverty charity ActionAid.
The race is Africa's largest mass-participation sporting event, with more than 36,000 people filling the streets of Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa, taking on the challenge of a 10km run at more than 2,300m above sea level. Sally also met with global running icon Haile Gebreselassie as part of the trip.
Sally also visited a range of ActionAid projects, including:
- A high school in the Fiche Town area 200km north of Addis Ababa, where she met teachers and schoolchildren from the same age group as her own son;
- A health centre built by ActionAid servicing more than 5,000 people with a staff of just two people;
- A project in Addis Ababa that provides loans, training, skills and advice to poor women in Ethiopia, enabling them to set up their own businesses, learn creative approaches to business and marketing, and become self-sufficient;
- One-on-one visits in the homes of women who have benefited from this last project, able to support families of up to nine children using the skills and training provided by ActionAid.
Running is an important part of Ethiopia's culture, and although the race is the scene for professional athletes battling for first place, the event is also famous for its carnival atmosphere with many runners singing and dancing their way around the course. The race has been described as 'the world's toughest fun run' and past participants describe the thousands of people cheering along the route as incredibly moving, as many have walked for miles just to celebrate with the runners.
