adidas arranged for a run with the 'Emperor', Haile Gebrselassie, at Hyde Park and Run247 went along to capture the day on camera - February 16, 2014
You can watch a video of the run below and click on the 'Gallery' button above for a selection of images from the day.
There are some invites that come through the door that you know you just have to accept, for example an invitation to meet the Queen. So when we got the invite to run with one of our heroes - a man generally recognised as the best long distance runner ever - Haile Gebrsealassie, we were pretty quick to respond to say yes.
In some ways it was an invite to meet the Emperor, the Emperor of running. Haile was over in the UK to announce that he will be a pacer at the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon (HERE).
adidas had kindly arranged for a run around Hyde Park with the great man as a way of marking the one year anniversary of the launch of adidas boost. If you haven't seen boost then you need to get out more, as since its launch (HERE) it has been on the feet of more marathon wins and world records than any other shoe.
Run247, along with all the major running publishers, were excited to spend a brief amount of time with the great man, when we met in St James Park on a pretty perfect, sunny, London winter's day. I have been lucky to meet Haile before and it is difficult to explain what a genuine, nice and inspiring person he is. The man truly loves running and believes that it can not only help you deal with the strains and pressures of life, but that running can also help change the world we live in for the better.
The Royal Parks were busy with tourists and locals and one of the highlights for me was watching peoples faces when they realised Haile had just run past them! You just never know who you might meet on your next run.
Video of the run
You can watch an interview with Halie (HERE)
