Lack of Fujairah Half Marathon support a shame

Fujairah: With nothing much to do except wait expectantly for the sun to rise, I sat along the Corniche area watching last-minute preparations for the second running of the Fujairah Half Marathon rather early on Friday.

I watched rather disinterested in what was happening around me. But, as much as I wanted to abstain and shut out the scene, I started witnessing the entire area come to life. With nothing to lose, I got interested in what was happening around me.

First came a couple of French men looking occupied in a discreet conversation. A child walked past and one of them smiled at her still engrossed in the conversation. Then came a group of Filipinos enjoying a joke and laughing as they stretched out on the pavement.

The most serious lot among this group was a gaggle of African runners, who moved away from the pavement exactly 45 minutes prior to the start of the race. The Moroccans were in one group, the Kenyans in another and the Ethiopians also all together. They trudged along for a jog and then started easing themselves into an exercise regime. There was not a word exchanged between these runners, just a smirk of seriousness writ across their faces.

As it transpired later in the morning, it was the African runners who dominated the races with a Kenyan winning the men’s event and an Ethiopian taking top honours in the women’s race.

But this is besides the point. I was in Fujairah last year as well and yesterday I had a chance to witness first hand the growth of this race. Fujairah is quite a laid back destination and the race is one of the events planned by the government in a bid to attract tourists and visitors to the emirate.

I managed to hitch a ride on the racecourse along with a friend from a television channel. The course touches some of the major landmarks within tiny Fujairah, thus turning the race into a sight-seeing event and competition at the same time.

However, sadly what was missing was an adequate participation from the residents of Fujairah and its surrounding areas. Any event of this magnitude can die a natural death if there is no local support.

For the sake of the event, and for the residents, I would strongly urge better participation.