Gulf Today

Defending champions confirm for Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon

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El Mourabity of Morocco and American Boulet took the men’s and women’s crown in the inaugural edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon last year

Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet, the two defending champions, will be back in Dubai to defend their Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon crown when the world’s longest desert race takes place here for the second year from Dec.9-13.

El Mourabity of Morocco and American Boulet took the men’s and women’s crown in the inaugural edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon last December with El Mourabity clocking 31 hours, 17 minutes and 29 seconds across the four-day and 270km race, and Boulet finishing with a time of 37:27:59.

Both have now confirmed, along with a number of other elite ultra-runners, for the second edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon, which will be a longer 300km race and spread across five days with a prize purse of $100,000.

“Some of the world’s best endurance and ultramarat­hon runners, including the defending champions Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet, will be back in Dubai to take part in the second edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon,” said Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council.

“The first edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon was a huge success with elite ultra-runners from 48 countries taking part in the 270km race. Media from around the globe covered the event, while CNN Internatio­nal flew down a team to Dubai to cover the race and the Al Marmoom Desert Conservati­on.

“This year, the Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon is going to be even bigger and beter. The distance has been increased to 300km, and so the competitio­n is going to be stiffer. We have developed a special GPS system to track participan­ts this year and there will be drones covering the full race. We will have a much bigger race headquarte­rs as well and a lot more tents for athletes to relax in.

“The Al Marmoom Ultramarat­hon is a translatio­n of the guidance of our wise leadership to take advantage of the many opportunit­ies that the Al Marmoom Desert Conservati­on offers and to encourage all segments of our society to use the Al Marmoom for their sports and outdoor activities.

“The Reserve is the perfect place to host this challengin­g event and provides participan­ts with a unique opportunit­y to experience the beauty and tranquilli­ty of our deserts.”

Alongside the main event, the gruelling 300km Ultramarat­hon, the race also offers lesser distances of 110km and 50km to encourage endurance runners from the UAE and region to participat­e. The 300km race will be completed in 5 days and over four separate routes starting from the base camp situated in Al Qudra.

The 110km race will be a non-stop 24 hour run, while the 50km race will be completed in one day.

All three races are self-sufficient with water and tents supplied, as well as medical and safety support given. Top rankings and special recognitio­n winners in all three races will receive prize money, and all finishers will receive medals and t shirts.

The organisers are encouragin­g runners who wish to sign up and prepare for the event to join the weekly ‘build up runs’ training program, which will starts on Aug.30, and run for 12 weeks leading up to the main event.

 ??  ?? ↑ Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet will be back to defend their titles.
↑ Rachid El Mourabity and Magdalena Boulet will be back to defend their titles.

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