Scrambled Legs: New Race Draws 300, Funds for Ethiopia

By MATT McLEOD For the Chronicle
JULY 19, 2009

 As day broke over the Gallatin Valley, it was possible to imagine a new dawn rising 8,000 miles away.

NICK WOLCOTT/CHRONICLE Runners begin at a sprint pace during the 5-kilometer version of Saturday's Scramble for Ethiopia in Bozeman.  The inaugural Scramble for Ethiopia hit the ground running early Saturday morning, as over 300 competitors turned out to pace a course stretching from the corner of Flanders Mill and Durston roads to Valley West’s Meyer Park.

Bozeman’s Journey Church hosted the first-year competition, which included 10- and 5-kilometer courses as well as a children’s race, all in an effort to raise funds for the children of Ethiopia’s Bright Hope School.

The cause is something that caught the ear of Bozeman High cross country coach Clint May, who ran in the 10K and whose program used the event as a centerpiece for its summer schedule.

May set the scramble as one leg of a month-long relay for the Bozeman team, which has collected pledges from area businesses and private donors benefiting local charities.

Up until Aug. 15, sponsors can donate anywhere from five to 25 cents for each mile team members cover during summer competitions n totaling between 100 to 150 miles for each athlete. The ground the group covered Saturday will add to that total, and will go toward qualifying the top runners into Bozeman’s upcoming high-altitude camp.

May believes the miles-for-money system helps build character and offers rewards both on and off the roads.

“We’ve seen great participation so far,” May said. “We had a couple kids literally go door to door on Main Street, getting businesses involved. That’s what today was about and I’m really proud of the work these guys are doing.”

May has helped mold the careers of a number of standout runners in his years with the program, including the day’s women’s 10K champ, Elisabeth Driscoll.

The former Bozeman High and Montana State University standout is helping May run the high-altitude camp. Driscoll said the scramble was a perfect fit for what the team is trying to accomplish.

“It’s all really about community focus, and this race works in really nicely,” Driscoll said. “When we go out and get sponsors, it connects everyone involved in the process.”

The money the event pulled in will go to fund the Ethiopia Hope Project, a charity program aimed at building a sustainable farm - complete with chicken coops and a clean-water well at Bright Hope.

As of last Monday, the event had drawn 150 entrants and organizers were expecting around 200 runners to show. Event director Brad Dolesh said a late registration push made the scramble’s turnout a “pleasant surprise.”

According to Dolesh, far exceeding that mark means a sign of good things to come.

“This has been great; really better than we had hoped for,” he said.

Locals made up the majority of Saturday’s participants, but it wasn’t just a hometown affair. The Scramble drew a number of out-of-town runners eager to hit the road for a worthy cause.

Mike Fahey of Medway, Mass., brought his wife, Anh, and children Cedric, Alish, Maevis and Neilan to take part in the scramble. Fahey, who spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia from 1988-1990, said he saw Africa’s dire need for clean wells firsthand.

“There’s a saying in Africa that it’s easier to find a bottle of beer than a cup of clean water,” Fahey said. “And believe it or not that’s absolutely true.”

Fahey and his family were vacationing in Yellowstone National Park when they came across the race’s Web site. A day of exercise for the kids was a priority for Fahey, but it was the cause that ultimately hooked him.

“The importance of clean water is almost beyond words,” Fahey said. “It’s the difference between life and death in so many cases.”

Complete results were not made available to the Chronicle on Saturday. They will be published upon arrival.