Dubai: Saeed Aouita, the legendary Moroccan runner who watched Friday’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon as a special guest, feels that the Ethiopian and Kenyan domination can be ended only by runners who are ready to sacrifice everything for the sport.
Former 5,000m Olympic champion Aouita, who broke world records over 1,500m, 2,000m, 3,000m and 5,000m in the 1980s, said: “To catch up with the Ethiopians and the Kenyans you have to work very hard. You have to forget about school, job and everything and focus only on running.
“For them running is their job, it is also their education and life. Only a person who can sacrifice everything for running can beat them. If anyone feels that he can balance his time with education, a job and training, he will never be able to perform like them.
“Kenyans and Ethiopians take these events very seriously. It is also a fact that they run for the prize money, which is very attractive. An amount like $200,000 [Dh734,600 million] as prize money for the Dubai winners is a lot of money in Ethiopia. Besides the money factor, they are also good because they work hard.”
But Aouita feels that a better winning time could have been achieved in this year’s Dubai Marathon. “The course was easy but they ran a little bit fast, especially the first half marathon,” he said. “If he [men’s winner Tsegaye Mekonnen Asefa] controlled his pace a little bit, he could have finished stronger. The problem is that he started stronger, so he finished weak.”
Of the UAE event, Aouita added: “Dubai Marathon is among the best because they invite the best athletes and it is a lovely city, has got beautiful weather and the prize money is also very good.”
