Experience & Commitment of the Team
Haile Gebrselassie: Race Co-founder
The greatest, most versatile distance runner in world history, Haile Gebrselassie is a national treasure in his native country of Ethiopia. Gebrselassie won two Olympic gold medals, four World Championship titles and set 27 world records during a distinguished career that extends to this day. He won the Berlin Marathon four consecutive times, including a 2:03:59 in 2008 which, at the time, broke the world record. Gebrselassie continues to race while also managing several highly successful businesses in Ethiopia.
Tim Murphy: Race Co-founder
As the most influential, innovative race director of the past 20 years, Tim Murphy, founder of the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon, has added another world-class event to his portfolio.
In 1986, when Murphy created Elite Racing and his first race—the now world famous Carlsbad 5000—he made the 5K a popular distance. Starting in San Diego, Murphy originated the concept of a music-themed race with the first Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. With live bands, cheerleaders and an emphasis on mass participation (as well as a charity-driven field), Murphy revolutionized the big-city marathon. The Rock ‘n’ Roll series quickly mushroomed across the country and in 2001, he grew the business to include the half marathon distance with the introduction of the wildly successful Virginia Beach Rock ‘n’ Roll Half. Because of the success of such Rock ‘n’ Roll races as Virginia Beach, San Antonio, Arizona, Nashville and others, the half marathon quickly became the most popular race distance in America.
Within just a few years of starting the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, the Rock ‘n’ Roll brand had become the biggest and most important series of races in the world. Today, there are more than 30 hugely popular Rock ‘n’ Roll branded races around the world.
Murphy’s influence in the running world continues today with the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon.
Ermias Ayele
Every international race needs a key man on the ground and that man is Ermias Ayele. Ayele organizes more than a dozen races a year in his native land of Ethiopia, including Africa’s largest race, the Great Ethiopian Run with a field of over 35,000. When the United Nations wanted to organize a peace run in the conflicted country of Liberia, they called on Ayele. In 2012, Ayele was also selected by the United Nations to represent Ethiopia as part of an international team to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The team was part of an overall UN public service campaign to end violence against women. Schooled as an engineer and with a degree in sports management, Ayele is the nuts and bolts of the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon. He lives in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Habtemaryam Fentaw
Habtemaryam "Habte" Fentaw was born in Ethiopia's most renowned historical site, the northern highland town of Lalibela. From a young age, Habte began working in the tourism industry, guiding tourists who came to see the magnificent 13th century rock-hewn churches in his hometown. Habte earned a degree in journalism at the prestigious Addis Ababa University, and honed his English skills at language schools in Capetown, South Africa and in Cork, Ireland. Habte is co-founder and general manager of Awaze Tours and enjoys introducing foreign visitors to his country of which he is immensely proud. Habte has designed and will help manage the various tours for the participants of the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon. Habte is also a volunteer patient coordinator for the Entoto Foundation, and has been instrumental in organizing young patients' trips abroad for life-saving surgeries.
Photo: Habte Fentaw (far right), owner of Awaze Tours, has extensive experience hosting foreign guests in Ethiopia. Habte has designed a series of tours that will show off the best of Ethiopia to participants of the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon.
Richard Nerurkar
A former world-class athlete, two-time Olympian and 2:08 marathoner for Great Britain, Nerurkar is a consultant for the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon. After his competitive career, Nerurkar lived in Ethiopia for more than nine years, during which time he co-founded the Great Ethiopian Run with Haile Gebrselassie in Addis Ababa in 2001. Under their leadership, the event has grown to 35,000 participants. Nerurkar, who now lives in the UK [Brighton], currently acts as the elite athlete coordinator for the Brighton Marathon.
Marea Ortiz
A long-time manager in running and event management, Marea is also a former special projects manager for the Rock ‘n’ Roll series and executive assistant to the CEO of the series. Ortiz is the glue that holds the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon together with her organizational and logistical acumen. She lives in San Diego, California.
Toni Reavis
The Voice of Road Racing in America, Reavis has pioneered the coverage of running for more than 30 years on radio and national television. His broadcasts of such major marathons as Boston, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles earned him induction into the Running USA Hall of Champions in 2009. Reavis has traveled many times to Ethiopia and other African nations to profile the top runners in the world. A native of St. Louis, Reavis lives in San Diego where he writes his popular tonireavis.com blog.
Sandy Sislowitz
As Marathon Expo coordinator, there simply isn’t a more experienced person in the world of running than Sandy Sislowitz. Her first connection to running came in 1981 as a volunteer for the New York City Marathon. Three years later, she began organizing the New York City Marathon Expo and took it from a small, crowded hotel basement into the mega three-day running celebration that attracts thousands of runners. Starting in 1998, she duplicated that success as manager for the Rock ‘n’ Roll expos. Sislowitz lives in New York City.
Bob Wischnia
For more than 30 years, Wischnia has played an integral role in the running shoe and racing industry. Known universally as “Wish,” he was an editor at Runner’s World Magazine for 25 years and is now a marketing consultant for the Haile Gebrselassie Marathon. He lives in Austin, Texas where he is still a competitive road racer.