Emiratis encouraged to take part in marathon

dubai — The 2020 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is expecting to see a record number of Emiratis line up at the start on January 24, alongside some of the world’s greatest elite marathon athletes, thanks to the viral “#My City_My Race” campaign.

Organised under the patronage of Sheikh hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, and under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is the largest mass participation sports event in the Middle East, attracting more than 30,000 participants every year.

Now in its 21st year, the Dubai Marathon, which is the first and only iAAF Gold Label Marathon in the Middle East, will see participants compete along the route on Jumeirah Beach Road as the past few years, with some of Dubai’s best-known landmarks, including the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, providing the backdrop.

“The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is the biggest mass-participation sports event in this part of the world, with the number of participants exceeding 30,000 in the past few years,” said Khalid Al Awar, Director of Dubai Sports Council’s Sports Events Department, at press conference at Dubai Sports Council.

“This year, however, we are expecting to breach the 50,000 mark in terms of participation. We are confident we can achieve that target because we have witnessed an increasing awareness about physical activity among both Emiratis and expatriates.

“Thanks to a number of initiatives launched under the guidance of Sheikh hamdan, we have seen more and more people embrace a physically active lifestyle and take part in events in big numbers. We expect many of them to show up on Jan. 24.”