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Bekoji, a rural town in Ethiopia, is home to eight(!) Olympic runners, including Tirunesh Dibaba, who took gold in the 10,000 and 5,000 metre races in Beijing in 2008. Behind their success is beloved long distance coach Sentayehu Eshetu, a central figure in a new documentary, Town of Runners, that follows three young athletes on their own quests for greatness. "Nearby villages think we're mad," Eshetu says.
"A lot of people say Bekoji's success is down to genetics or the altitude," director Jerry Rothwell says, "but that doesn't explain why the town 5 miles down the road doesn't also produce world-class long distance runners!"
The film debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival this month.
