Olympic runners train with amateurs at Ethiopian camp

A simple Ethiopian athletics camp which is attracting elite runners from around the world has opened its doors to state-run Anadolu Agency. 

Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah is just one of the top-tier competitors using the facilities at Yaya Africa Athletics Village near the rural town of Sululta, 12 kilometers north of the capital Addis Ababa.

The athletics village - owned by Ethiopian legend and double Olympic gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie - was built five years ago.

Manager Lemmisa Bote said many internationally renowned runners had come to their camp for training on its five-hectare site.        

Among them was British runner and Olympic champion Mo Farah. Focused on training, Farah, who was recently knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, declined to be interviewed but his presence revealed the elite-level quality of the training on offer.        

"Most of these athletes are coming for one or two months of rigorous training and they seem to like it here," fitness coach Ayenew Zergaw said.   
     
It is a February morning and the atmosphere promises a good day ahead - not cloudy, not chilly but temperate with sunshine coming.

Just off a highway, past a paved drive, there is a wide field. Two buses full of athletes pull over into the middle of the field.

Soon the athletes disembark one by one - young men and women, some internationally renowned some less so - forming groups which break into a light jog.

Soon the air is filled with the sound of panting and thuds plus occasional whistle blasts from coaches.

Among the hundreds of athletes training were Mare Dibaba and Lelisa Desisa, both have said they were hopeful for the upcoming London Marathon in April.

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