Dubai Marathon in January will be special: Al Kamali

Dubai: The world's elite marathon runners will compete in the 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 18, 2008.

"The January 18 marathon will be special. It was on November 27, 1997, that we had planned to stage the first marathon. It will be a decade since we staged the Dubai Marathon for the first time and we want to make it special the next time," Ahmad Al Kamali, the general co-ordinator for the Dubai Marathon and general secretary of the UAE Athletic Federation, told Gulf News yesterday.

"We staged the first marathon, wanting to promote Dubai and the UAE as a sporting destination. We have successfully achieved it and today, Dubai Marathon has clinched a place among the best marathon events in the world. Encouraged by the success, we have raised the prize money to $1 million (Dh3.67 million)."

According to Kamali, the participation of Haile Gebrselassie will attract the best runners from around the world.

'Tough competition'

"A lot of agents for the top runners have already contacted, us wanting to participate. The next marathon will produce a tough competition and hopefully we may record the fastest time," he said.

The Dubai Marathon is staged under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

"Next year's event is being held under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council for the first time. Dubai Holding has once again stepped forward with a $1 million offer to anyone who can break the world record for men or women," he said.

Preparation

Kamali revealed that the Dubai Marathon would be held before the Beijing Olympics and therefore the event was being used by many long-distance runners as an opportunity to measure their preparations before the Beijng Games.

"Gebrselassie is the greatest long-distance runner the world has produced during the last 20 years. We are proud and delighted that he has agreed to run in Dubai. We are thankful to the government of Dubai for encouraging us and the Standard Chartered Bank for their constant support," he said.

"By increasing the prize money to $1 million, our event will be the richest event on the marathon calendar. In fact our prize money is more than that of the London, Berlin, New York, Chicago and Boston marathons."