Juan Joel Pacheco Orozco

Jose Luis Santana Marin

Balew Yihunle Derseh

Beshah Yersiie Eskezia

Yihunilign Adane

Adane returns to Dubai after finishing 11th in the 2016 edition of the Standard Chartered event and a prolific 2019. He ran as many as four marathons but produced creditable positions and times in every single one.

His most recent marathon brought victory at Hefei in China on November 10 last year in 2:10:06. This followed a strong performance at altitude in Mexico City on August 25 and, prior to that, third place in Rome on April 7 after setting a personal best of 2:09:11 for third at the Beppu Marathon in Japan, also known as the Oita event, on February 3.

Until that performance his best marathon was on his debut in Dubai with 2:09:48 in 2016 which was followed by another strong showing at the Joongang Marathon in Seoul in early November of that year. Adane is very much a marathoner, having set his half marathon best of 61:34 almost eight years ago at the Boulogne-Billancourt event in Paris.

Abdi Fufa

The 24-year-old Abdi Fufa arrives for his first experience of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon after a busy 2019. It looks as if his preparation has gone well with a personal best at half marathon of 62:46 in Chunzhou in China on October 13.

In September he finished ninth in 2:13:33 in the Cape Town Marathon. He ran for Ethiopia in the World Cross Country Championships at Aarhus in Denmark on March 30, finishing a creditable 15th. Fufa ran his fastest marathon so far in 2018 when he clocked 2:09:24 for fifth place in Shanghai.

His all-round performances in the past two years suggest he is ready to move up a level on Dubai’s traditionally super-fast course.

Tesfaye Lencho Anbesa

From a solid marathon debut to finish fifth at the 2018 edition of the Hefei Marathon in China in 2018, Anbesa has still to crack 2:10 for the distance but there is every chance he will do it in the latest Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, given the consistency he has shown so far.

Since the marathon debut in China he has concentrated on this classic distance and races at half marathon. In 2019 he finished fourth in the Paris Half Marathon, running 65:50 but his best at that distance goes back to 2017 and the 61:09 he clocked to win the Bucharest title in Romania.

The first marathon victory of the Ethiopian’s career came at the second attempt, winning in Venice with a personal best of 2:10:49 on November 27 last year.

Eric Kiprono Kiptanui

Eric Kiptanui is a marathon newcomer with superb potential. His personal best of 58:42 makes him the fastest half marathon runner ever entered into the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. Originally a 1,500 m runner the 29 year-old Kenyan made instant impact in international road running.

Coached by renowned Italian Renato Canova he won his first three races: On New Year’s Eve 2017 he took the 10k in Madrid, then Kiptanui clocked 60:05 in his half marathon debut in Lisbon, followed by a phenomenal course record of 58:42 in the Berlin half marathon in spring 2018.

Time and again marathon novices have achieved remarkable victories with superb performances in Dubai. It was only a year ago when Ethiopia’s debutant Getaneh Molle won the race with 2:03:34, a course record. Kiptanui looks capable of continuing this tradition. Additionally he might be the one who can end the Ethiopian win streak in Dubai which began back in 2012.

Aweke Ayalew

Ayalew has prospered since changing nationality from Ethiopia to Bahrain on May 1, 2013. A year later he competed for Bahrain at the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, finishing 50th.

He gained his first title for his adopted country also in 2014, winning the Asian Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, itself a famous venue in marathon history. After setting his current half marathon personal best of 60:10 to finish fifth in New Delhi on October 21, 2018, the Bahraini was primed for his marathon debut which came in Frankfurt almost exactly a year later.

An impressive debut at the distance it proved to be, finishing third in a hotly contested finish which had four men vying for the top honours over the last 200 metres. Ayalew clocked 2:07:12, providing a strong suggestion that he had potential for faster times. The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon should be an ideal platform to explore such ability.

Yitayal Atnafu Zerihun

During the first part of his career Yitayal Atnafu Zerihun competed at a number of world-class indoor and outdoor meetings, achieving fine personal bests of 13:04.18 and 27:50.70 at 5,000 and 10,000 m respectively.

It was after running his PB at 10,000 m in 2015 when he switched to road running. Zerihun soon moved up to the marathon distance, running his debut in Houston in January 2016 with 2:12:09.

He improved to well below 2:10 in his next race, when he clocked 2:08:53 in Paris. From 2017 to 2019 the Ethiopian collected a number of runner-up positions in top marathons. Most recently he was second in Istanbul last November. However so far Zerihun has not managed to win a marathon.

The flat course in Dubai will probably provide a perfect opportunity for the 27 year-old to significantly improve his PB.

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