At the Loch Ness marathon young Ethiopian athlete Yared Hagos will be running for his life, his dreams made possible thanks to an innovative Scot

• Yared Hagos (left) in training for the Loch Ness marathon

Despite Negewo's undeniable talents, he would not be on the cusp of a professional career without Running Across Borders (RAB) - a Non Governmental Organisation that supports young East African runners. Co-founded by 27-year-old Scot Malcolm Anderson and his friend Garrett Ash in 2008, the organisation - based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa - might only be in its infancy but is already enjoying success.

But while many Rab runners now compete convincingly on the domestic circuit, Anderson is also helping them break onto the international marathon scene. A win or place, and the prize money that goes with it at these races, offers his athletes a chance to earn a decent living, so they have a lot to run for. With the next international fixture in their calendar coming up - the Loch Ness marathon on 3 October - hopes for another one of their runners, Yared Hagos, are running high.

"Yared's been with us since the start. We've seen him flourish from a raw talent into the runner he is today," says Anderson who predicts that despite having never been to Britain, the 29-year-old will be able to complete the vertiginous Highland course and secure a podium finish.

It was while Anderson, a keen runner, was teaching in Kenya as part of a gap year in 2001 that his eyes were opened to the world of East African running and the challenges that high unemployment and a lack of education pose to East African youth. However, it was not until he was researching athletic development as part of a postgraduate African Studies degree at Oxford University, that he identified a way to help. "I remember the night clearly," he says. "I met Garrett, who was studying Athletic Performance, to discuss the fieldwork we'd just completed - him in Ethiopia and me in Kenya. Having both got to know a lot of runners out there who had impressive talent but no way to harness it, we were looking for ways to support them."

Rab was the answer. Identifying Ethiopia as a country with particularly poor athletics provision, with the help of local authorities and a coach, it wasn't hard to find the talent. Next up: the quest for sponsorship to enable them to provide their runners with everything from kit to coaching.

In April last year they established their first training camp in Addis Ababa, which offers their five female and nine male athletes a place to live, learn, eat and train. "At the camp they get structured training, proper nutrition, clean water and education," explains Anderson who, despite being based in Edinburgh and working full-time for a political communications firm, manages to visit the region once a year.

Hagos, an orphan from the farming region of Tigray, is in a fortunate position. Like many Ethiopians his age, he saw running as a way to escape poverty, and so, having made the three-day bus journey from his home to the capital in 2002, decided to give it a go.

City life wasn't easy. Living with a friend, Gudissa Toloosa, Hagos would run up to two hours a day. Toloosa washed dishes to pay their way, but with an average daily consumption of less than 1,000 calories from the small amount of food they could muster, Hagos had to limit other activities to accommodate the energy deficit.

Then, in 2008, the pair met Ash and went on to become the first Rab-sponsored athletes. "Before, I used to run in plastic slip-ons, now I have new clothes and trainers," says Hagos. "Rab was really the start for me. I have nice conditions to live in and can go on to win races."

But Rab is not just about winning races. "Our goal is to secure a sustainable economic future for each beneficiary through their passion for running," says Anderson. "That might mean becoming a professional athlete, but as only a small percentage will become elite runners, this could mean going to university or becoming a professional in a running-related industry. The emphasis on education and broader life skills is therefore crucial."

Anderson and Ash are also taking measures to make Rab more self-sufficient. Currently funded by other charitable organisations and individuals, their Runners Exchange programme - through which runners from the UK, USA and Continental Europe can train at the Rab camp 2300m above sea level - will become the means through which this is achieved.

"We don't want to rely solely on charity,'' explains Anderson. "The Runners Exchange is ideal for competitors or enthusiasts seeking improved performance or to experience East Africa's running culture." The upshot is the money athletes pay to stay and train goes towards funding their African counterparts and camp staff.

With two runs a day, the first starting at around 5am, and a weekly long run of up to 30km through agricultural terrain, training is tough. Despite this, amateur long-distance runners such as London lawyer Eric Phillips are not put off. "I wanted the opportunity to train at altitude," says the 32-year-old who visited the camp in December 2009. "I had a wonderful time - my fellow athletes were incredibly friendly, pacing my runs despite most being quite a bit faster than me."

As for Hagos he has just a week left before the big day. "I'm excited about seeing Scotland - I think it'll be the same as Ethiopia but colder. I've been training on concrete and asphalt so I'm prepared."

If he does well here, he may just join Negewo and become a familiar face on the marathon scene. Hagos meanwhile has his sights set on emulating another Ethiopian. "I want to be like the world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie," he says.

Visit www.runningacrossborders.org Take your old trainers to FootWorks (0131-229 240) in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh to receive 5 off a new pair. Your old ones will be delivered to Kenya or Ethiopia.

• This article was first published in The Scotsman on September 25, 2010