In the mornings and late afternoons, the parks of Addis Abeba fill with people who have come to move.

As parks and recreational grounds have multiplied across the city, jogging, running, and open-air exercise have turned from a rarity into an ordinary sight. Some walk briskly along newly laid pathways, others stretch before a run, and groups of friends and organised clubs work their way through the designated tracks and open spaces, each moving at their own pace, drawn from every age group and background the city holds.

For years, the country's best-loved running event was the annual Great Ethiopian Run, the 10Km held every November when thousands converge for a festival of health and national spirit. For a great many who took part, it was probably the only day of the year they ran at all.

That is no longer the case. Running has slipped free of the single-event status and become a regular daytime pursuit, taken up by clubs and individuals alike.

I came to see the change through experience rather than observation. The first sign of it reached me while travelling with a group called “Run for Life,” a community of runners drawn together over the years through the Great Ethiopian Run.

The group takes part in a programme organised by Great Run, “Discovery Ethiopia Classics,” which combines tourism and running into a single journey. Alongside the race, participants are given time to explore the places they visit, visiting local attractions and taking in the culture, history, and terrain of each destination. The trip becomes far more than a sporting outing, blending running with domestic tourism and cultural discovery.

Members also run regularly at Great Run events across Addis Abeba, which makes running a year-round habit rather than a once-a-year effort.

The group has existed for five years, but I only joined in January of this year, as it set out on its annual “Discovery Ethiopia Classics” journey, an ambitious route running from Ankober through Debre Birhan and on to Harar. Each stop along the way offered its own scenery, culture, and atmosphere, and each leg of the journey became more than a race.

What stood out most was the sense of community that grows among the participants. Rather than a formal sporting event where people arrive, compete and leave on their own, the group plans everything together. Transport is arranged collectively, hotels are booked as a group, meals are shared around one table, and friendships form steadily along the way.

The atmosphere feels closer to a family trip than a competition.

It was only after the “Run for Life” experience that I began to meet runners from other groups on race days. Around the same time, more clubs were appearing on social media, each building its own community and drawing members from every walk of life.

The newest of them is the “Debol Running Club,” started by the physical trainer Nuniyat Mandefro, known to her followers by the handle “Debol.”

"Since I focus on resistance training, I thought running would be easy,” she told me. “One Sunday morning, I decided to challenge myself and go for a five-kilometre run with one of my friends.”

It proved far harder than she had expected. Taken aback by how difficult it was, she shared the experience online, and before long, her followers were asking to run with her. What began as two people on a Sunday morning grew into an organised community.