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Elite runners add spice to Dubai Marathon |
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2/16/2006 7:24:57 AM |
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15 February 2006
DUBAI — The starting line-up for this week’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will be as talented as any in the history of the event with a field of elite international athletes set to take to the streets of the emirate on Friday.
Already more than 500 athletes have signed up for the blue riband distance with thousands more expected to compete in the 10km and 3km runs being held in association with the classic distance race.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the marathon has again attracted the cream of developing African runners for a race that will set off and finish under the shadows of the Emirates Towers and the Dubai World Trade Centre.
As is customary with the event, around ten per cent of the Marathon field will consist of elite athletes — a fact that will excite race organisers and running media alike. Among the big names expected to be contesting the lead in the men’s event just over two hours after the start is defending champion Dejene Guta of Ethiopia and 28 year-old David Kirui Kiptoo, from Kapsabet in Kenya.
“This year we have a line-up that balances a great blend of experience and new raw talent,” said event director Peter Connerton. "The philosophy behind the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is to get the established and experienced runners competing alongside the up-and-coming talent of the future."
Kiptoo boasts a pedigree that will certainly make him one to watch when the race kicks into life at 7am on Friday. Although his two marathon appearances in 2005 saw him finish fifth in Venice and eighth in Madrid, he won the LA Marathon in 2004 and has a superb marathon personal best of 2h:08m:55s — which he set in Paris in 2003 — and a half marathon best of 1h:04m:34s from 2001.
Runners like Kiptoo will also no doubt have their sights set on breaching the 2h:10m mark this weekend, following the footsteps of Kenya’s Joseph Kahugu who ran the region’s first sub 2:10 Marathon in Dubai in 2003.
"The conditions are always excellent at this time of year," added Connerton. "If we see a fast pace set early on then I see no reason why we shouldn’t have one of the fastest race times seen in the history of the Dubai Marathon."
Last minute runners still looking to sign up for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2006 can register at the Dubai World Trade Centre Hall (next to Hall 8, Novotel side) from 11am-7pm today and 11am-4pm tomorrow.
In addition to title sponsors Standard Chartered, other sponsors of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2006 are JW Marriott, Isostar, Dubai Sports City, AMG, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Bone & Joint Center, Toyota, Aquafina and the Dubai World Trade Centre.
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