• In 2004, Dejene Berhanu won the Bupa Great North Run, which is said to be “the world's most popular half marathon road running event”

Just weeks after competing in both the TD Beach to Beacon 10k and the Falmouth Road Race, Ethiopian runner Dejene Berhanu committed suicide on Sunday, August 29, 2010. Berhanu was only 29 years old when he took his own life last weekend.

He was buried on Monday and left behind his wife, Ayelech Berhanu--also a professional runner--and a three year old daughter. Dejene Berhanu was born in 1980 in Addis Alem, just outside of Addis Abba, and had been a rising star in the distance running world throughout the last decade. Berhanu burst onto the professional scene in 2000 when he took second in the 10,000 meters at the African Championships, eventually running for the Ethiopian Olympic team at the 2004 Athens Games where he placed fifth in the 5,000 meters. Berhanu ran his way to be among the best in the world, holding top-notch personal bests ranging from 12:54.15 for the 5,000 meters to 27:12.22 for 10,000 meters.

A past Great North Run Half-Marathon champion and course record holder, the Ethiopian held an impressive 59:37 career best for the half-marathon and ran 2:08:46 at the Rotterdam Marathon in 2006. He also had previously won the Carlsbad 5000 and Bolder Boulder 10K. Most recently, Berhanu tried to tackle the U.S. road racing circuit and competed in the TD Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth, Maine where he placed 14th overall in 29:14 and the Falmouth Road Race where he placed 16th in 34:02. Berhanu, however, was on the mend from undergoing eye surgery in Cape Elizabeth by ophthalmologist, Dr. Jeff Berman. The runner was diagnosed with a "droopy eye" after the 2009 Beach to Beacon 10k and elected to have the surgery.