The Ethiopian Way: How To Train Like The East Africans Do

The Ethiopian ‘Way’ of running generally comprises many peoples’ assumptions and beliefs about the generic traits of East Africans. Equally, their lifestyle, spent at high elevation, is also used as an easy ‘get out’ for explaining their prowess at road marathons and track events worldwide.

But what if there was something more fundamental, more human (and simple!) behind their abilities? Wouldn’t it be great to know what that ‘thing’ is? Well, I certainly think so!

A common sight at long distance track events; Ethiopians leading the way

I finished ‘Out Of Thin Air’, written by Michael Crawley, recently, and was blown away by the ingenuity of the training ideas and methods implemented by the many running clubs in and around Addis Ababa (the capital). Most notably, the way they would deliberately find danger, trecherous conditions and chaotic, almost violent, interactions between runners and their environent at times.

Equally, the way they sleep, train sensibly, recover, cut out life’s many other distractions and share dormitories and meals despite the difference in wealth between runners, was humbling to say the least.

Ethiopian athletes like Mule Wasihun (above) almost always live and train in ordinary ‘working class’ areas of Ethiopia - in the suburbs of Addis Ababa you’ll find a large hub of runners especially

There’s no fancy house or gold watch for any of them; at least not while they are still training professionally and living with their friends / training partners before, during and after runs.

As for the runs themselves, here’s 3 main principles that they certainly do EVERY week when they prepare, train and live as a group:

> Altitude, climate and surface variation - they mix it up ALL THE TIME, and very deliberately depending on how far away they are from race day. ‘Periodisation’, after all, is nothing new to Running Science, but the Ethiopians generally consider way way more components when they structure a training plan!

> The Group comes First! There is an almost universal acknowledgement between running clubs and runners in Ethiopia that we get our energy from each other. Crawley’s books even outline especially intense examples of supposed ‘witchcraft’ between runners, when one ‘steals’ the energy of another.

Generally speaking though, training is cleverely designed to include all abilities as much as possible, so running as a group (with pacers and other responsibilities swapped and changed between them) can be the norm as much as possible!

> Running is a Lifestyle - as already mentioned, Ethiopian runners surrender to an existence of few possessions and even fewer luxuries. It is both respected and accepted that being a runner is work, and therefore requires a daily dedication, discipline and humility regarding their diet, sleeping arrangements, schedules, workouts, as well as their (almost complete) avoidance of things like alcohol, drugs, women and ‘holidays’.

Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia (a sacred forest adored by the local runners)

Perhaps these 3 main training principles are not so surprising, and yet clearly there are stark differences between how these principles play out in Ethiopia compared to Europe.

Check 99% of the training plans online and you’ll see for yourself the lack of emphasis given to ‘group’ sessions, altitude and terrain. Somehow in the West we’ve boiled ourselves down to 3 variables only: distance, speed and time.

In fact, if one considers the infinite relevant factors in how we live, work and train, then such things as relationships, environment and living arrangements are only scratching the surface.

Example of Christian Mysticism (‘African Mythology’), published in Ethiopia

There is a mysticism and almost divine appreciation of all things responsible for a runner’s performance and preparations that runs deep in Ethiopia, as in Kenya also (wonderfully explored by Andharanand Finn in his book ‘Running With The Kenyans’).

That is the Ethiopian Way - to dedicate oneself entirely to the journey, the lifestyle, the race. To worship it. To become to it. To transform oneself through it.

The Marathon time, after all, is just a number. Where as Running, as we all know, is so much more…

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