Slow marathon

Last updated

Slow Marathon was an annual event hosted by Deveron Projects that took place in the North East of Scotland with all routes ending in the Aberdeenshire town of Huntly. Originally conceived by Ethiopian artist Mihret Kebede during her art residency program between January and March in 2012 at the Deveron arts (Deveron projects) institute in Huntly, Scotland. The first successful event happened in March 2012 between Addis Ababa and Huntly. The idea of the Slow Marathon was to connect people in different worlds through art regardless of any paperwork and political discrimination that refrain people's mobility and integrity. The slow marathon participants walk at a pace that means they can take time to look at the landscape and consider a topic that is the focus of an associated discussion on the following day. The last person to finish the walk is deemed to be the winner.

Contents

History

Ethiopian artist Mihret Kebede created the project as part of a residency with Deveron Arts (now Deveron Projects). [1] The artist had wanted to walk the 5850 miles from Ethiopia to Scotland, but this was not possible because of physical difficulties such as crossing deserts as well as closed borders and visa restrictions. Kebede calculated that if 225 people each walked 26 miles together they would have traveled the distance between Ethiopia and Scotland; in response, Mihret and Scottish artist Norma D. Hunter developed an accumulative marathon, which involved a 26-mile walk in and around the town of Huntly, and a parallel walk-in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [2] The inaugural Slow Marathon took place on Saturday 17 March 2012. Kebede led the walk in Huntly, while in Addis Ababa it was led by artist Helen Zeru. Multiple Marathon World Record holder Haile Gebrselassie, participated in the walk in Ethiopia, as well as a shoelace exchange between participants in Scotland and Ethiopia. [3] A discussion, Walk Sans Frontiers, was held on the day after the walk. [ citation needed ]

2013 - 2020

Slow Marathon 2013: Cabrach to Huntly [4]

Slow Marathon 2013 took place on Saturday 20 April as part of John Muir Day weekend; it served as the official launch of the Walking Institute. [2] [5] Walkers followed part of an original Hielan' Way crossing unexplored and remote countryside. Starting at the Upper Cabrach area the route went alongside the River Deveron and over the Clashmach hill to Huntly. Winning time for Slow Marathon 2013 was 12 hours and 45 minutes. A symposium entitled "Nature as Home", which commemorated John Muir, was held on the day after the walk. Speakers included Mike Daniels from the John Muir Trust, artists Penny Weir and Gill Russell and ornithologist, Roy Dennis.

Slow Marathon 2014: Glenkindie to Huntly [6]

Slow Marathon 2014 took place on Saturday 10 May. The route went from Glenkindie past Kildrummy, Lumsden and Rhynie, through the Clashindarroch forest and over the Clashmach hill back to Huntly. It was inspired by the work of Scottish novelist and poet Nan Shepherd. Winning time for Slow Marathon 2013 was again 12 hours and 45 minutes. The walk was followed on 11 May by a Slow Day with the musician Jake Williams.

Slow Maraton 2015: Portsoy to Huntly [7]

Slow Marathon 2015 took place on Saturday 25 April. It was led by artist Stuart McAdam as part of a project looking at the railway lines cut in north east Scotland following the Beeching Report. The walk took participants along the route of the former railway line from the coastal town of Portsoy to Cairnie junction before following the River Deveron back into Huntly. The winning team took just over 12 hours to complete the walk. The next day a Pathmakers Gathering discussed long-distance walks and other pilgrimages with speakers including John Sparshatt, Christos Galanis, Marylin Lennon and Maureen Ross.

Slow Marathon 2016: Along the River Deveron [8]

Slow Marathon 2016 took place on Saturday 16 April. The route followed the course of the River Deveron and was inspired by a project led by artist Anne Murray and musician Jake Williams called With and Against the Flow. In 2013 craft artist Anne Murray had walked along the side of the river Deveron from the sea via Turriff and Rothiemay to Huntly. Musician, Jake Williams, had walked in the other direction from the river's source at the watershed between Glenbuchat and the Cabrach to Huntly. The winner of Slow Marathon 2016 took just over 12 hours to complete the walk. On 17 April a Pathmakers Gathering led by broadcaster and film maker, Jasper Winn, discussed the significance of rivers. Other speakers included Richie Miller, George Rutton and Frank Henderson.

Slow Marathon 2017: Correen Hills to Huntly

Slow Marathon 2017 took place on Saturday 15 April, as part of a project by artist Andrea Geile looking at Energised Landscape. The route, which started in the Coreen Hills, took in places of energy from ancient stone circles to modern electricity pylons and wind turbines. An open discussion on sustainable energy was held on the following day.

Slow Marathon 2018: Duffton to Huntly

Slow Marathon 2018 took place on 22 April. The route started near Duffton along the river Isla, back to Huntly. As part of a project Walking Without Walls, Slow Marathon 2018 saw a collaboration between artists May Murad from Gaza and Rachel Ashton from Huntly. Inspired by the botanical collections of pacifist Rosa Luxemburg, the artists mapped out their routes by drawing inspiration from the wild plants they find in their respective places. Through the Walking Without Walls partnership Rachel and May found ways to collaborate artistically and socially despite restrictive political situations.

Slow Marathon 2019: Route surrounding Huntly

The Slow Marathon 2019 took place on 21 April 2019, and walked the local poem 'The Ba'Hill, the Battlehill, the Clashmach and the Bin, they all form a circle and Hunty lies within'. It was a circle of varied terrain - including woodland, farmland, hills, and along the river Deveron - started and finished in Huntly. During 20 April an open discussion took place about walking, poetry and the commons.

Slow Marathon 2020: Under One Sky In May 2020 Deveron Projects announced that Slow Marathon could not take place as planned and instead called on people across the globe to come together and walk the world in an act of solidarity with communities suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The project is part of Under One Sky with artist Iman Tajik. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addis Ababa</span> Capital and largest city of Ethiopia

Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative centre of Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntly</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Huntly is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith and Rothiemay. Both Huntly and the surrounding district of Gordon are named for a town and family that originated in the Border country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abebe Bikila</span> Ethiopian marathon runner (1932–1973)

Shambel Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He was the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winning his first gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he won his second gold medal, making him the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title. In both victories, he ran in world record time.

Articles related to Ethiopia include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bezunesh Bekele</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Bezunesh Bekele Sertsu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in cross-country running and marathons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Addis Ababa</span>

The history of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, formally begins with the founding of the city in the 19th century by Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II and his wife Empress Taytu Betul. In its first years the city was more like a military encampment than a town. The central focus was the emperor’s palace, which was surrounded by the dwellings of his troops and of his innumerable retainers. In the 1920s, Addis Ababa experienced a significant economic upturn, marked by a surge in the number of middle-class-owned buildings, including stone houses furnished with imported European furniture. The middle class also introduced newly manufactured automobiles and expanded banking institutions. Urbanization and modernization persisted during the Italian occupation, guided by a masterplan aimed at transforming Addis Ababa into a more "colonial" city, a trajectory that continued beyond the occupation. Subsequent master plans, formulated from the 1940s onward with the input of European consultants, focused on the development of monuments, civic structures, satellite cities, and the inner city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsegaye Kebede</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons. He quickly rose to become a prominent distance runner after his international debut at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007. In his second year of professional running, he won the Paris Marathon, the Fukuoka Marathon and the marathon bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberu Kebede</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Aberu Kebede Shewaye is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman. She gained bronze at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships with the performance and has won at the Berlin Marathon, Stramilano Half Marathon and the Rotterdam Marathon. She has a marathon best of 2:20:30 hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Ethiopian Run</span> Annual 10-kilometre road running event in Ethiopia

The Great Ethiopian Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With 45,000 participants, the race has become the biggest road race in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedebit F.C.</span> Association football club in Ethiopia

Dedebit Football Club is an Ethiopian football club based in Mekelle, Ethiopia. They play in the Ethiopian Premier League, the top tier of Ethiopian football. The team officially moved its home base from the capital Addis Ababa to Mekelle after the 2017–18 Season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiki Gelana</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Erba Tiki Gelana is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Her personal best of 2:18:58 remained the Ethiopian national record for the event from 2012 to 2017. She won the 2011 Amsterdam Marathon and the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon. She won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics with a time of 2:23:07, a new Olympic record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilahun Regassa</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Tilahun Regassa Dabe is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who mainly competes in road running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 59:19 minutes and has won the Zayed International Half Marathon and Lille Half Marathon. He made his marathon debut at the 2012 Chicago Marathon and ran the third fastest ever debut of 2:05:27 hours.

Deveron Projects, formerly Deveron Arts, is a United Kingdom arts organisation based in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland that hosts international artists from a variety of disciplines to collaborate with the town community. Deveron Projects follows a '50/50' approach, which gives equal attention to impact on the local community and impact on the international art scene. Residencies have been provided to artists from China, the Americas, India, Africa and mainland Europe as well as North East Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeritu Kebede</span> Ethiopian singer and actress (born 1984)

Zeritu Kebede is an Ethiopian singer, songwriter, and actress. A prominent figure in modern Ethiopian music, her songs often incorporate rock and gospel music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meaza Ashenafi</span> Ethiopian lawyer and judge (born 1964)

Meaza Ashenafi is an Ethiopian lawyer. In November 2018, she was appointed by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly as President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia until her resignation on 17 January 2023.

Simone Kenyon is a performer, artist and producer born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She works extensively with walking, and in collaboration with other artists and dancers. In 2006, with the dancer Tamara Ashley, she made 'The Pennine Way: The Legs that Make Us', a durational art project in the form of a walk, creating a performance lecture about the project for ROAM a weekend of walking at Loughborough University in 2008, and a book published by Brief Magnetics in 2007. With Andrew Brown and Katie Doubleday she instigated the 'Open City' project in 2006, exploring the organisation and control of behaviour in the public realm. Kenyon worked with Deveron Arts in Huntly, Aberdeenshire on the founding of their "Walking Institute" and completed a commission 'Hielan' Ways' - a long distance walk in the Cairngorms in 2013-14. She has also completed walking-based work Step by Step, 2013 for Dance4 in collaboration with Neil Callaghan. Kenyon is connected with the Walking Artists Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbegnoch</span> Ethiopian resistance fighters during Italian East Africa

The Arbegnoch were Ethiopian anti-fascist World War II resistance fighters in Italian East Africa from 1936 until 1941 who fought against Fascist Italy's occupation of the Ethiopian Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kebede Michael</span> Ethiopian author and polymath

Kebede Michael was an Ethiopian-born author of both fiction and non-fiction literature. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and versatile intellectuals of modern Ethiopia – he was a poet, playwright, essayist, translator, historian, novelist, philosopher, journalist, and government minister belonging to the Shewa Amhara nobility and member of the Solomonic dynasty. His maternal ancestor was King Sahle Selassie of Shewa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wurgessa</span> Town in northern Ethiopia

Wurgessa is a small town located in the district of Habru, in the North Wollo zone of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Wurgessa is located along Ethiopian Highway 2, or Kombolcha – Woldiya road, 465 km from Addis Ababa and 25 km south of the woreda (district) town Mersa. Wurgessa is the birth place of the late comedian Alebachew Teka.

Walking art refers to a variety of artistic practices that position walking as the central process, experience or outcome. Walking artists have diverse interests and it 'has gathered practitioners from nearly every field'.:43 Despite emerging from a variety of artistic and literary traditions, a 'common feature [of walking art] is the engagement of the body in a process of walking through a landscape based on a specific artistic design.':161 Some artists consider walking an artistic end in itself, while others use walking as a means of mark-making, storytelling, social practice, or to create work in other artistic media.

References

  1. ↑ Kebede, Mihret (2012). Slow Marathon. Huntly: Deveron Arts.
  2. 1 2 Morris, Blake (2018-09-03). "The Walking Institute: a reflexive approach to tourism". International Journal of Tourism Cities. 4 (3): 316–329. doi:10.1108/IJTC-11-2017-0060. ISSN   2056-5607.
  3. ↑ Deveron Projects. "Slow Marathon Information Pack" (PDF). Deveron Projects.
  4. ↑ "The art of the slow marathon".
  5. ↑ Devine, C (2013). "The art of the slow marathon". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  6. ↑ "Walkers take part in 'slow marathon'". BBC News. 2014-05-12.
  7. ↑ "Slow and steady wins the race".
  8. ↑ "Slow Marathon 2016 - Event at the River Deveron in Huntly".
  9. ↑ Robertson, Kirsten. "People across globe encouraged to take part in Slow Marathon".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.