That is the preview of the 2025 Dubai Marathon, written by Deji Ogeyinbgo for RunBlogRun. The 2025 race is January 12, 2025, and might be watched reside at www.dubaimarathon.org at 6 am Dubai Native time! RunBlogRun will present distant social commentary throughout the reside elite occasion.
Dubai Marathon Preview: An Ethiopian Flavour for the twenty fourth Dubai Marathon
On January 12, 2025, runners from throughout the globe will collect in Dubai for one of the anticipated occasions within the marathon calendar. The Dubai Marathon is understood for its quick and flat course, a route that winds by a number of the metropolis’s most iconic landmarks, together with Jumeirah Seaside Street, Al Sufouh, and Umm Suqeim Street. This race provides a possibility for elite athletes to push their limits and break private information.
For almost 25 years, the Dubai Marathon has been a marquee occasion on the worldwide racing circuit, drawing worldwide consideration with its top-tier area and prestigious standing. The race has seen numerous information set, and the 2025 version guarantees to proceed this legacy. With a number of the world’s greatest marathoners toeing the road, this 12 months’s Dubai Marathon is shaping as much as be one other memorable race.
Males’s Race: A Star-Studded Subject
The boys’s race at this 12 months’s Dubai Marathon contains a group of runners with a mixture of established stars and rising expertise. Main the way in which is former World Marathon Champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia. The 34-year-old returns to town the place he introduced himself on the world stage again in 2013. Desisa’s victory in Dubai that 12 months, when he ran a private greatest of two:04:45, marked his debut on the marathon distance and set the tone for what would change into a adorned profession. He would go on to win the Boston Marathon twice, the New York Marathon in 2018, and the World Marathon Championship gold in 2019.
Desisa’s return to Dubai is extremely anticipated. His 2013 victory, which noticed him outlast a gaggle of challengers with a time that was one of many quickest marathon debuts in historical past, was just the start. Since then, he has remained a fixture on the high of the game. After a short hiatus from worldwide competitors, his reappearance can be a spotlight for each spectators and fellow runners.
Difficult Desisa can be Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, who holds the quickest marathon time within the area. Kimetto’s private greatest of two:02:57 was set on the Berlin Marathon in 2014 and was a world file on the time. Though he has not raced since 2019, the 40-year-old Kenyan’s spectacular credentials can’t be missed. If he can return to his greatest type, Kimetto might be a severe contender for the highest spot.
One other contender to look at is Dino Sefir, an Ethiopian marathoner who has persistently delivered sturdy performances. In 2012, he clocked a private greatest of two:04:50 in Dubai, which stays one of many quickest non-winning occasions within the race’s historical past. Since then, Sefir has been a daily in main marathons, together with high finishes in Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Barcelona. He can be wanting so as to add one other spectacular consequence to his profession.
Shifera Tamru, one other Ethiopian runner, has additionally been acting at a excessive stage. With a private greatest of two:05:18 and a powerful displaying within the 2024 season, he’s able to problem for the highest spots in Dubai. His current marathon time of two:12:13 in Hangzhou, China, reveals that he’s in strong type heading into this race.
Girls’s Race: A Aggressive Lineup
The ladies’s race is simply as thrilling, with Ethiopia as soon as once more main the cost. Tigist Girma, a seasoned marathoner, can be one of many high favorites. Girma has a protracted checklist of achievements, together with victories within the Beirut, Guangzhou, and Sydney marathons. She has persistently been on the entrance of the pack, setting private bests and ending within the high positions at main marathons. Her most up-to-date consequence was a win on the 2022 Sydney Marathon, the place she clocked a private greatest of two:18:52 on the Valencia Marathon.
Zeineba Yimer, additionally from Ethiopia, is one other sturdy contender. Yimer’s marathon profession has been marked by regular enchancment, together with a victory on the 2023 Barcelona Marathon and a fourth-place end on the Berlin Marathon, the place she ran a private greatest of two:19:07. Yimer has proven that she will be able to compete on the highest stage, and she or he can be seeking to proceed her profitable streak in Dubai.
Etagegne Woldu, a youthful runner with loads of potential, has been making strides within the marathon. Woldu ran her private greatest of two:20:03 on the 2022 Valencia Marathon and has proven regular enchancment within the years since. With a powerful season’s greatest of two:26:00, Woldu can be seeking to break into the elite ranks in Dubai.
One to keep watch over is Bahrain’s Tigist Ketema, the 2024 marathon debutante who made historical past by setting the fastest-ever girls’s debut marathon time in Dubai final 12 months. Ketema’s efficiency of two:16:07 was nothing in need of outstanding, and her victory on the 2024 Berlin Marathon additional solidified her place among the many elite. She can be returning to Dubai searching for a second victory and maybe one other file.
With so many gifted girls lining up, the race for the rostrum is anticipated to be fierce. The competitors in Dubai has at all times been robust, and this 12 months, it seems set to be no totally different.
What’s at Stake
For the women and men racing in Dubai, this marathon is extra than simply one other occasion. It’s a possibility to make an announcement on the worldwide stage. The flat and quick course makes it among the best locations on this planet for marathoners to interrupt private bests and even set world information. With such a powerful area in each the lads’s and girls’s races, this 12 months’s Dubai Marathon guarantees to be an exhilarating contest, with loads of storylines to comply with.
