FLASHBACK: Running With Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Haille Gebrselassie

I wrote this post back in November when I was briefly part of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s traveling press corps.  Since then, there have been big developments in the life and career of Mr. Rasmussen.  Ladies and gentlemen:  meet your new NATO Secretary General.  

ON A MOUNTAIN OVERLOOKING ADDIS ABABA – Running is the national sport of Ethiopia. It is also a favorite activity of Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. So, naturally, when he visited Addis for this week’s meeting of the Africa Commission, Prime Minister Rasmussen made a point to meet the current world record holding marathoner Haille Gebreselassie for a morning jog. Rasmussen is clearly in better shape than his security detail. But he’s no match for Gebreselassie, who ran the Berlin Marathon in under 2 hours, 4 minutes. Here’s Gebreselassie explaining the finer points of running at 2,800 meters above sea level to a very winded Prime Minister of Denmark. More photos after the jump.