Great Ethiopian Run was founded in 2001 when Ethiopia's first-ever international mass-participation road race was staged. Races for the nation’s top runners and small fun runs were already in existence, but prior to this no attempt had been made to stage a big running event that brought together the elite and the masses while at the same time attracting international participation and publicity.

The idea for the Great Ethiopian Run came from the organisers of the Great North Run in England and was supported in Ethiopia by the then British Ambassador to Ethiopia HE Myles Wickstead. The aims of the first run were to contribute to the betterment of life in Ethiopia by (i) giving the public opportunity to participate in the country’s national sport (ii) serving as a platform for publicising important health messages, in particular AIDS prevention messages and (iii) contributing to much-needed imaging building for the country.

After the success of the first race, a non-profit organization was formed and more Ethiopian staff were recruited to work in the office and part of the event team. Over time an annual series of mass-participation races has developed which has both provided fun and fulfillment to participants in more than thirty-four races that have since been staged throughout Ethiopia. At the same time the event team has grown considerably in its capacity to stage big races both in Ethiopia and abroad.

Great Ethiopian Run is led by Haile Gebrselassie, who oversees a small team of office staff based in one of Haile's new high-rise office buildings in Addis Ababa. The office team is managed by Richard Nerurkar who is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the organisation. The General Manager reports to the Board which is chaired by Haile.

In addition to the international 10km race Great Ethiopian Run also stages an annual women’s run in Addis Ababa, an annual relay for organizations on the new Ring Road, an annual race for schoolchildren in Addis Ababa at the time of Europe Day, and many other big regional competitions each year which typically publicise health and social messages.