Dubai: The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will again have a new route to keep pace with the progress of the city and its new landmarks.
Answering a query from Gulf News as to how tough it had been to design a fresh route every year, Peter Connerton, the event director said: “It isn’t easy to find a new route every year but we have managed it successfully. This year too, it will be a fast and flat route — taking in many of the city’s iconic buildings such as the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Mosque, Madinat Jumeirah and Union House before reaching the finish line on Umm Suqeim Road just before Dubai Police Academy.”
Ahmad Al Kamali, the President of the UAE Athletics Federation and a member of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Council, is hoping for a world record. “Once again, we have put together a strong field of elite athletes in both the men and women’s marathons and we look forward to a great race and, hopefully, record times.”
Elaborating on the course, Al Kamali said: “Dubai courses have always been flat. This time we had made sure there are no bends except a few small ones. This will give more comfort to the athletes to run faster. From the technical point of view, this course will be faster than the previous years. We are also putting about eight pacemakers so that the first half will be run at 61:30. If there is no wind and temperature will be normal, we will be able to record a time of 2:04.”
When asked about the quality of athletes, Al Kamali said: “We have three athletes who ran 58 minutes in half-marathons and they can easily set a new mark if the day’s conditions too favour runners.”
