For those who signed up for the Great Ethiopian Run through the Zebu Club, transport will be provided to and from the race by meeting at Zebu Club at 7:30 AM on Sunday morning. Also, please see the following safety tips regarding the Great Ethiopian Run this Sunday from the UN Security Advisor for Ethiopia. I look forward to seeing those of you who signed up on Sunday morning!

Gail Amare, Head of Administration – Ethiopia

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The Great Ethiopian Run will take place on Sunday. Many UN colleagues have signed up for as Charity runners and will take on the 10K with an estimated crowd of over 40,000 runners. The official webpage of the Great Ethiopian Run or “Haile Gebrselasie’s Last Run” – as it has been named – is linked here with all the news and updates by the organisers: http://ethiopianrun.org/index.php/international-10k/information

For our colleagues who will run the 10K or cheer up the runners we would like to add a few important security tips:

1. Don’t try to drive yourself to the race. Take a cab or come with a driver. Parking will be near to impossible. As per 6am on Sunday Police will block all roads leading to Meskel Square and the entire racetrack.

2. If you go with your family or a group, agree on a meeting point away from Meskel Square after the race. For UN personnel the UNECA compound is a good meeting point.

3. Don’t take valuables with you! Pickpockets work best in crowds and Sunday’s mega-crowd is going to be a field day for all of them. If you are a runner and wearing any electronic device (GPS running watch, cell phone etc.) keep it concealed. Don’t take any wallet or credit card with you, just your UN or MOFA ID and a bit of cash.

4. The crowd is going to be very dense, all the 10kms of the race. If you are a good runner, try to get to the first third of the field early. If you are running as a group, stick together or, if not possible, meet at the agreed meeting point afterwards. Think of a shrill colored baseball cap you could wear to remain visible in the crowd, as all runners will be wearing the same shirt.

5. Void to wear earphones while running. Stay alert of your surroundings!

6. Even a small incident like a firecracker could cause a panic with catastrophic consequences. Keep an eye on escape routes from the racetrack. In case of a stampede you should immediately run to the nearest escape route.

7. If you have to tie your shoelaces or adjust your equipment NEVER stop in the stream of people. Leave the race, go to the side and do your thing, then get back into the field of runners. In past races runners stopping on the track were heavily injured by people pushed against and trampling on them.

8. Expect traffic jams and large numbers of pedestrians on the road, before and after the race and calculate spare time to avoid a stressful hurry!

Other than that, we wish all UN participants a successful race, and all others an exciting race day!

Marco Smoliner (Mr.)
Security Advisor for Ethiopia