The race has been previously won by world-class runners like Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Lornah Kiplagat.
Haile Gebrselassie (nicknamed "Geb"), Ethiopian long-distance runner
The race featured over 4000 competitors at its inaugural edition, and also succeeded in attracting high-calibre elite athletes such as marathon world record breakers Haile Gebrselassie and Catherine Ndereba, as well as Australian 2008 Olympians Craig Mottram and Benita Johnson.
Haile Gebrselassie run the distance in 27:02 minutes in 2002 in Doha, IAAF recognised the time as world record, while ARRS rejected it claiming Gebrselassie got assistance by a vehicle.
The race runs through five of the town's water mills and some of the world's most distinguished runners have competed there, including Haile Gebrselassie, Sebastian Coe and Kenenisa Bekele.
Several tracks quickly caught the ear of many listeners in Ethiopia - "Halieselassie", a tribute to the late Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I; "Haile, Haile", a single in honor of the Olympic long distance champion Haile Gebrselassie; and "Mona Lisa", a song about the measure of human beauty.
Haile Selassie | Haile Gebrselassie | Mengistu Haile Mariam | Yohannes Haile-Selassie | Haile Gerima | Almayahu Haile | Margaret Haile | Haile Fida |
She was born in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia province, the same region as double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie.
Italian runners Gelindo Bordin, Orlando Pizzolato, and Stefano Baldini are interviewed, as well as former world record holder, Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, British world-record holder Paula Radcliffe, and Norwegian Grete Waitz.