Athletics
When Alistair Campbell, who during his time beside Tony Blair met the world's leading figures, asks to have his picture taken with Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat one knows one is in the company of special people. That was at the London Marathon.
It is only when one sees Gebrselassie here, in his own country, that one appreciates how much he means to the Ethiopian people. As he drives around the city in his top-of-the-range Jeep people wave and cheer at him and the battered blue-and-white taxis stop to allow him right of way. A man who aspires to be his country's president is already its unofficial figurehead.
Tergat is held in similar regard in Kenya, where he is his country's most popular sportsman and was given an England rugby-style welcome when he returned after setting a world marathon record in Berlin in September.
So it was akin to a state visit when Tergat flew here from Nairobi in the early hours of yesterday morning for the Great Ethiopian Run tomorrow. Gebrselassie was at the airport to greet his old rival and the two exchanged gifts as they embraced warmly in front of a battery of television crews.
Their rivalry has been among the greatest in sporting history, surpassing even that of Seb Coe and Steve Ovett. The statistics can be overwhelming: they have won 17 world or Olympic titles and set 20 world records between them.
"We have driven each other on," said Tergat. "Racing against Haile has given me extra motivation, kept me focused. We have inspired each other to achieve great things."
For almost a decade Gebrselassie held sway, defeating Tergat 14 times out of 15. But, whereas Gebrselassie's standards have slipped slightly in the last three years, Tergat has made the difficult transition from track to marathon with great success, culminating in Berlin when he ran 2hr 4min 55sec to wipe 43sec off the world record. He is the first Kenyan to hold the record.
Tergat claims he would never have achieved that time but for the disappointment of Gebrselassie beating him to the Olympic 10,000m gold for the second consecutive games in Sydney three years ago.
In arguably the greatest race in history Gebrselassie won by a narrower margin than Maurice Greene did in the 100m. Even on videotape it looks as if Tergat is going to win until Gebrselassie dips on the line.
Such is their mutual respect that Tergat, who is receiving $250,000 (£154,000) to run the London Marathon in April, is competing here for nothing in an event part organised and sponsored by Gebrselassie.
"It has been portrayed that Haile and I are enemies," he said. "We have never been that. We are here in Ethiopia to promote peace and show we can be friends."
More than 18,000 runners have entered the 10km race, making it the largest staged in Africa. They include Campbell, raising money for a leukaemia charity.
The run also includes a challenge match between Ethiopia and Kenya. Tergat heads a team that includes Paul Koech, the former world half-marathon champion and the world marathon gold medallist Catherine Ndereba.
Gebrselassie is too heavily involved in the organisation to run but he is still able to call on a wealth of talent, including the world 10,000m champion Berhane Adere, who beat Paula Radcliffe in Japan on Monday.
The race is one way in which Gebrselassie can put something back into a community that worships him. He owns a construction company that employs several hundred people and is a strong campaigner for Aids awareness.
Tergat, too, has chosen to invest in his homeland, where he owns a freight company and runs an athletics magazine. "Running is not always about money for me," he said. "It's about being able to have fun and helping others."
