By ELIAS MAKORI in Addis Ababa

The 24th edition of the Sofi Malt Great Ethiopian Run International 10-kilometre Road Race gets underway in Addis Ababa this Sunday with three-time winner Abe Gashahun back to one of his favourite hunting grounds.

Over 50,000 runners are expected to flood the streets of the Ethiopian capital, including a top contender from Kenya, three-time Eldoret City Marathon champion Victor Kipchirchir.

Last year’s Great Ethiopian Run winner Biniam Mehari

Kenya has also fielded an entry in the women’s race – Miriam Jelagat – with Kenya’s world marathon record holder Ruth Chepng’etich the chief guest at this weekend’s race alongside two-time Boston Marathon champion Moses Tanui, the first man to run a sub-one hour half marathon.

Chepng’etich broke Ethiopian hearts last month when she improved on Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa’s world marathon record by running a jaw-dropping two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds to become the first woman to run a sub-2:10 marathon.

In the process, she improved on Assefa’s previous mark of 2:11:53, set at last year’s Berlin Marathon, by about two minutes.

But despite the age-old Kenya vs Ethiopia athletics rivalry, the Ethiopians have rolled out the red carpet for Chepng’etich with Ethiopian Airlines handing her a surprise cake and champagne mid-air on her maiden visit to Ethiopia where she is held in extremely high regard in this athletics-mad nation.

Chepng’etich landed in Addis on Thursday night.

Abe Gashahun, a three-time Great Ethiopian Run winner, will be gunning for a fourth title this year

The Great Ethiopian Run – the brainchild of Ethiopia’s multiple World and Olympic champion and record holder Haile Gebrselassie - is gunning to become the world’s biggest 10km road race with this weekend’s entry of 50,000 runners a step in the right direction.

“We have partnered with several state agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Tourism to make the Great Ethiopian Run a great experience indeed,” Race Director Dagmawit Amare told journalists attending a pre-race media training session at the Hyatt Addis Hotel on Thursday.

“Haile (Gebrselassie) passed it on, and we want to pass it on to the community and we want to make sure that there is continuity,” she added.