Great Ethiopian Run Targets World's Largest 10km With 60,000 Runners
Image by Great Ethiopian Run
Great Ethiopian Run, Africa's largest mass-participation road race, has set a target of becoming the world's largest 10-kilometre race by 2030, unveiling an expansion plan that will lift its 2026 field to a record 60,000 participants and 8% increase from the previous year.
The organisers said registration for the 2026 International 10km, scheduled for 22 November in Addis Ababa, will rise to the record figure from 55,000 in 2025. The event's children's races will expand to 5,000 primary school pupils, with a further 3,000 free entries reserved for graduating secondary school students. The growth drive is backed by Bank of America, which became the race's Presenting Partner last year and will also present the Women's First 5km, held each year around International Women's Day.
Managing Director Dagmawit Amare framed the plan as a shift in ambition beyond headcount.
"Today marks a new chapter in our journey as we aim to increase the impact of our flagship race in terms of youth opportunity, sport tourism and local enterprise. We are excited by the new possibilities opening up through our partnership with Bank of America and the continued support of our longstanding partners," she said.
The 2026 edition, runs under the theme "My Run, My Color," will introduce chip timing for a section of participants for the first time and expand digital registration through Ethio Telecom's Telebirr platform. Organisers also widened the Run For A Cause fundraising programme, run on the GivenGain platform, to channel donations to three Ethiopian beneficiary organisations.
Founded in 2001 by two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie, the race has organised more than 250 events across Ethiopia and drew a record 55,000 runners at its silver-jubilee edition in November 2025, up from roughly 45,000 in 2023. Alongside Bank of America, the 2026 partner roster includes UNICEF, Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian Airlines, the Ministry of Tourism, Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa and several Ethiopian private-sector firms.
The 2030 goal is more grounded than it sounds. The current world's largest 10km is Atlanta's AJC Peachtree Road Race, capped at 60,000 since 2011. Great Ethiopian Run's 60,000 target for 2026 would put it level with Peachtree at the front of the field - and because that cap is a logistical choice rather than a ceiling on demand, the race to be "largest" is really a race to keep growing capacity. On a trajectory from 45,000 (2023) to 55,000 (2025).
Why the bank is doubling down. Bank of America signed on last year; the news now is that it is bankrolling growth rather than a static naming deal. For a US bank, backing a 60,000-runner expansion buys brand exposure into the Ethiopian and diaspora market, a community-and-youth ESG narrative and association with one of Africa's most globally recognised sporting properties - at a fraction of the cost of a Western marquee event. That a financial institution is funding scale, not just visibility, signals real confidence in African mass-participation sport as a commercial asset.
The digital layer is the quiet upgrade. Chip timing, Telebirr registration and GivenGain fundraising move the race toward first-party data capture and cashless transactions. Digital registration at 60,000-plus scale is a subscriber list, a payments rail and a sponsorship-inventory engine - the infrastructure that lets an event monetise beyond entry fees.
A sport-tourism package is forming. Ethiopian Airlines, the Ministry of Tourism and Hyatt Regency in the partner list is not a coincidence - it is fly, stay and run assembled around the country's distance-running heritage as a destination pitch. If Ethiopia can convert international entrants into multi-day visitors, the race becomes a tourism instrument.
