Town of Runners (2012)

Directed by Jerry Rothwell

In the small rural Ethiopian town of Bekoji the sport of running has become a religion. Known for turning out Olympic caliber distance runners, runners from Bekoji have produced 8 Olympic Gold Medals, 32 World Championships and have broken 10 world records in the last 20 years. Its runners have also swept the four distances races, male and female, at the Beijing Olympics. Director Jerry Rothwell takes us into this sleepy little town obsessed with running, through the eyes and voices of a handful of its natives to tell us the story behind the success.

Our story focuses on three young people from the town of Bekoji. Biruk is our link to the ever developing town as he explains the impact the upcoming paved roadways will have on the town and his grandmother’s little shop, a kiosk on the side of the…