Dubai: British wheelchair athlete Rob Smith is looking to add to his hat-trick of Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon wins with a fourth consecutive victory and a sub-two-hour finish in his category a week on Friday.
Smith has shaved 12 minutes off his initial best time in Dubai of 2:18.48 in 2011 with a 2:06:45 finish here last year. He now targets a sub-two-hour finish buoyed by a recent personal best of 2:01:31 set at the Oita Marathon in Japan last October.
“I feel I’m going faster and really want to get under two hours for a marathon in 2014,” said Smith. “Dubai is a great chance to achieve that. I’m also really hoping for some good track results in the summer to get selected for the European Championships in Swansea in August.
“The Dubai course is fast and flat, which has both its advantages and disadvantages. The lack of hills is good as it means there are no hard uphill sections but that also means there are no downhills so there is zero chance to rest for a few seconds on the down slope.
“There are also not many racers in the category so there’s also no drafting possibilities — the chance to sit in someone else’s slipstream — as I’m usually at the front on my own the whole time. Last year was particularly hard work especially with the condensation, which meant it was extremely difficult to grab and push the wheels.”
Smith’s comments come after the news last week that two of Ethiopia’s leading marathon talents — Meselech Melkamu and Meseret Hailu — will head a strong elite women’s field at the January 24 event. And, with nine runners owning personal bests of under 2 hours 24 minutes, this will be one of the strongest elite fields ever assembled for the Dubai event.
On the flat course here, the 2:20 barrier and possibly the course record of 2:19:31 are likely to be under attack at the world’s richest marathon and the only three-time International Association of Athletic Federation (IAAF) Gold Label-ranked race in the region.
“Such is the quality of the field, there is every chance the women’s results in this year’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will be as impressive as those of the men,” said event director Peter Connerton, who also announced that the registration deadline has been extended right up to the eve of the race.
A common strand runs through the brief marathon careers of Melkamu and Hailu, who both have almost identical personal bests. Hailu won the 2012 Amsterdam Marathon in a course record 2:21:09, while a week later Melkamu won the Frankfurt Marathon with a course record 2:21:01. Both times are among the fastest female debuts ever.
For more information on entering the marathon and the 10-kilometre road race visit www.dubaimarathon.org.
