January 17th, 2018

Marathon City Effort Keeps Dubai Race At The Forefront Of World Athletics

It will take a marathon effort by many departments of the Government of Dubai to prepare for the city’s role in the athletics’ world spotlight next week, with more than 30,000 runners expected to take to the streets for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

An army of police personnel, RTA staff, Dubai Municipality teams and ambulance and health crews are already preparing to handle an event that covers over 42km of the streets of the UAE and which gets underway from Umm Suqeim Road on January 26.

To be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and held under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is just one of many world-class sporting events staged in the city.

But while most of the recognized events take place in one particular area, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon unfolds over 42km of the city’s streets, involves more than 30,000 competitors and has several stretches of Dubai’s road network closed for half a day.

With such a huge gathering of people for what is the biggest mass participation sporting event in the Middle East, logistics play a vital role. Adding their considerable expertise and professionalism to the day are various departments of the Dubai Government, which ensures a safe and trouble-free day for all the competitors.

“Dubai has become adept at staging world championships and world-class occasions but the sheer scale of the Marathon makes this a real challenge,” said Event Director Peter Connerton.

“This is why we appreciate the co-operation we receive from many government bodies – we have developed a tried and trusted relationship with them and enjoy coming together in the weeks before the big day to finalise all our plans and take a close look at the route and where we need to place special emphasis in terms of safety and security.

“With the support of the Dubai Sports Council, we work closely with Dubai’s Police’s Protection and Security, CID and Traffic Departments. It really is a collective effort and thanks to the Dubai Police, Dubai Ambulance Service, the RTA, Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Health Authority we are able to come together with all our volunteers to make it make it a smooth and successful event for every race category.

With more than a week to go until the big day that will see athletes such as Tamirat Tola, Aselefech Mergia and Worknesh Degefa chase the men and women’s winner’s cheque of US$200,000, the organisers will tomorrow (Thursday) sit down with representatives from the Dubai Government departments to go over the race routes for the Marathon, the 10km Road Race and the 4km Fun Run.

As usual, police personnel will be on hand to ensure the roads are clear and that every runner, no matter what event they are competing in, will be unaffected by traffic, while they will also be present at the start/finish line to give the elite athletes a clear run and what could be well be another course record time.

In addition to Standard Chartered as title sponsor, the Dubai Marathon is supported by the Dubai Sports Council, adidas, Dubai Eye 103.8FM, Dubai Holding, Dubai Police and the RTA. Runners looking for last-minute registration can do so at the official website www.dubaimarathon.org.