She signed up for the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February 2008 and a tactical race resulted in Atsede recording the same time as Salina Kosgei and Pamela Chepchumba, with the Ethiopian taking third place on the podium. She took both athletes again a month later at the Lisbon Half Marathon but, while the Kenyans completed a 1–2, Atsede was sixth in the competition. For the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, she led the Ethiopian women's team However, she was beaten by three of her compatriots and her eighth place finish left her out of both the individual and team medals. She took on two of her national rivals (Aselefech Mergia and Getanesh Getanah) at the Delhi Half Marathon in November but again finished behind them, although her time of 1:09:37 was enough for fourth place. She closed the year with a third place finish at the Bahir Dar Cross Country meeting.