🇪🇹Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Nov 15, 2026
Nov 15, 2026
Scheduled390 melevation gain
Open entry
Dates and entry details change. Confirm with the organiser before you book.
PB potential
Extremely challenging — focus on finishing, not a PB
Beginner friendly
Better suited to experienced runners
Addis Ababa's marathon is run in the city that has produced more world marathon champions than anywhere on earth — Haile Gebrselassie trained on these roads, Kenenisa Bekele grew up in this air, Tigst Assefa set the 2023 women's world record here. The course runs through Meskel Square (the enormous public square where Ethiopian Orthodox Meskel celebrations draw millions), along Churchill Avenue, past the National Museum (home to 'Lucy', the 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus fossil), and through Addis Ababa's sprawling markets. At 2,355m altitude with 390m of elevation gain, this is an extreme physical challenge for unacclimatised runners. The Ethiopian running community is enormous — this is running's spiritual home, and simply being here is the reward.
Temperature
13–22°C
Humidity
40–55%
Conditions
Ethiopian post-rainy dry season — crisp and clear at altitude
Wind
10–20 km/h highland variable
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