Barley The Grain Of Champions

Located in the heart of Africa, Bekoji is a tiny Ethiopian village located at 7°35′N 39°10′E latitude and longitude.
Bekoji has produced 26 world champions and holds 10 world records in running. What is the secret of this little town? As their world champion coach used to say: "They work hard, listen well and have barley everyday".

Training

Right now

Runners training in high
temperatures:

Local time:

The power of barley meets the endurance of Ethiopian DNA
and the dedication of hard work.This is how a small town
brought up 26 world champions and holds 10 world records.

Results

All prizes, medals and records collected by the city of champions.

Besso

This simple drink empowers the champions.

Coach

Meet the man behind the champions.

Every day, new runners are inspired by their coach,
Sentayehu Eshetu.

They know that to become a champion they should listen to his advice. Years ago, while working at Bekoji’s Elementary School, coach Sentayehu Eshetu noticed the potential of his students. Soon, one of them won the first African gold medal at the world championships in Barcelona.

A Bekoji’s athlete will
run over 136 miles (220 km)
in a week time.

Coach Sentayehu Eshetu
trains up to 200
athletes seeking for
glory and championship medals.

The Bekoji’s athletes run for about
30 miles (48 km) a day at an
average speed of 12.4 mph (20 km/h)
- that's more than a full marathon everyday.

The unusual training takes place more than
1.6 mile (2,600 m) above sea level
and aims to strengthen athletes by running
uphill on rough ground.

"I don’t do any magic.
Do you know barley?
They eat barley."
Sentayehu Eshetu.

In 1960, the world stopped to watch an Ethiopian athlete run barefoot at the same pace as the other shoe-wearing runners on the streets of Rome. Since then, the world has witnessed records broken, gold medals claimed and championships won by Ethiopian runners.
However, what no one sees behind the scenes is that there may be some kind of magicinvolved: barley. Besso, a barley-brewed drink, is a powerful and natural beverage to aid the training of Ethiopian runners.

Besso

It’s so easy to mix up Besso that you can turn it into a power shake. This is one of the secrets for Bekoji’s athletes to have so much energy. Check out how to make it.

Raw barley
Berbere (Ethiopian spice blend)

Slightly roast the barley and remove the hulls.
Use a food processor to make a thin flour.
Add some berbere spice to your taste.

How to serve besso?
To eat: Boil the water and mix the besso. Add either sugar or salt. Serve it as porridge.

To drink: add besso and water in a lidded jar and shake them until besso is totally dissolved. Add honey to taste.