With lower than a month to go, the elite fields are taking form for the Dubai Marathon.
The first worldwide marathon of the brand new 12 months will happen on January 7, that includes a number of huge names.
The African powerhouse nations of Kenya and Ethiopia have already added Dubai to their racing calendars with Rotterdam and Osaka Marathon winner Haiven Hailu Desse and 2023 Rome Marathon champion Betty Chepkwony trying so as to add to their title assortment within the ladies’s discipline.
Hailu, 25, has already excelled over the marathon distance with these victories within the Netherlands in April 2022 (2:22:01) and a 12 months later in Japan (2:21:13), whereas her private finest of two:20:19 got here when ending third within the Amsterdam Marathon of 2019.
Chepkwony made her breakthrough on the worldwide marathon scene by successful the Rome Marathon 9 months in the past in a private finest time of two:23:02. It was a telling assertion from the 28-year-old who trailed early on inside the primary 10km after which fell 17 seconds behind at half-way, earlier than displaying outstanding resilience to claw again the time to win and higher her earlier private finest by a large seven minutes and 26 seconds.
In the lads’s discipline, Ethiopians Workineh Tadese Mandefro and Kebede Tulu Wami paved the way with each trying to win their first Dubai Marathon titles.
A private finest of two:05:07 from the Hamburg Marathon in 2022 was a serious enchancment on Mandefro’s marathon journey shaving greater than two minutes of his earlier PB set on the Amsterdam Marathon six months earlier.
Another of the quickest elite males, Wami has been on a gentle upward journey in his brief marathon journey. Since ending eighth on the 2020 Mumbai Marathon, he has constantly lowered his private finest each time he has accomplished the marathon distance.
Events in Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands and Barcelona culminated in a brand new private finest of two:05:19 and second place on the Seville Marathon in February 2023.
Runners who’ve nonetheless not registered for the three-race occasion, can join on-line for the 10km Marathon and 4km Fun Run.
