The Main Event
The Muscat Half Marathon is a splendid addition to an international to-do list, finds Isaac Williams
The Muscat Half Marathon, Oman
‘ WHERE’S 16?!’ I think, desperately scanning the horizon. I’m 15km into the toastiest half marathon I’ve ever done, the sun is burning a hole in my forehead and the promised land of kilometre 16 is nowhere to be seen. In an unfortunate turn of events, I’m also covered from head to toe in isotonic sports drink, having just doused myself at a fuel point, thinking it was water. However, despite the circumstances – as any runner will tell you – if I can get to ‘less than a parkrun to go’ everything will be just fine...
But before that, a nod to Oman. Because while a race report should answer several questions – chief among them being ‘How was the race?’ – any conversation about this event can’t take place without first discussing its location, which offers the most compelling reasons for you to add Muscat to your list of race destinations.
The race start is in Al Mouj, a high-end residential area next to the marina. The first thing you notice is how immaculate everything is. Not only is litter nowhere to be seen, but even dirt and dust stick to the shadows. Every surface shimmers; every flower bed has been placed and trimmed with pinpoint precision. Head out of Al Mouj – to visit the decadent Grand Mosque, Al Alam Palace or Mutrah Souk, a traditional market where the air is thick with frankincense – and you’ll find that even the roads are silky smooth.
This overwhelming sense of newness is no coincidence. Until 1970, the road network in the whole of Oman amounted to just six miles. But then, deep in the desert, huge oil reserves were discovered. The newly crowned (and still-ruling) Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said invested his nation’s massive new-found wealth in infrastructure and modernisation – in less than 50 years, Oman was transformed. Thankfully, though, its natural beauty and ancient traditions remain at the forefront of the national consciousness. UNESCO World Heritage Sites abound, such as the Ad Daymaniyat Islands, a short
boat ride off the Muscat coast. Languid sea turtles and techicolour coral make for a snorkeller’s paradise. In short, Oman is quite lovely. Now, back to the race.
First run in 2012, with a field of just over 100 entrants, the Muscat Marathon weekend now attracts close to 10,000 competitors, and has Paula Radcliffe as an ambassador. Its international appeal is thanks in part to its pancake-flat course, with all distances (marathon, half, 10K, 5K and a kids’ race) providing PB potential.
I lined up at the start line with thousands of other sleepy runners at the outrageously early time of 6:30am. If at first that seems a rude awakening, the midmorning sun soon makes you wonder why they couldn’t start the race even earlier. That said, the first few kilometres, while the sun remained low in the sky and my legs remained lactic acid-free, were a chance to set an early pace to compensate for the inevitable drop-off later on. The course took us out of Al Mouj and onto the winding paths of a lush-green golf course. Gently sloped fairways, eye-catching water features and glimpses of the ocean made for a pleasant change from the residential opening, and this early section – up to the opposite end of the golf course – was a blissful experience.
There followed a 4km stretch of highway that, while prosaic, was also straight as an arrow, giving timechasers the chance to settle into a rhythm before the hard yards to come. Also, anyone who’s run a race will know how much difference the slightest hint of support can make; at 9km traditional Omani dancers gave a boost to the sweaty masses with their chanting, dancing and tambourine shaking – only breaking from their performance to offer high fives and pats on the back.
The following 5km was an exercise in ‘sticking with it’, as the course wound its way along a main road and led us out onto a beachside promenade. A gentle sea breeze took some of the sting out of the humidity; and sweeping views out over the Gulf of Oman, interrupted occasionally by clusters of fishermen’s huts lining the golden sand, made me grin at one of those occasional realisations of how lucky we are to do this as our sport. The road, dissected by traffic cones to separate runners heading in opposite directions, led up to the 15km mark – where I grabbed the aforementioned booby-trapped sports drink and attempted to lure the nation’s wasps out of hiding. At the end of the traffic cones the marathon runners were instructed to continue, while we half marathoners, smug looks on our faces, were directed back the way we came.
I tried to stay in the slipstream of a chap in front and use him to try to maintain the distance between me and the increasingly determined official 1:40 pacer coming up behind who, like a Terminator in Ultraboosts, was inexorably closing the gap. Just as I was ready to accept defeat, I discovered a soggy Starburst I’d stuffed in my pocket for just such an emergency. The mere taste of the sugar was enough to fool my brain into telling my legs to get a wriggle on. I sped up just enough to keep the pacer at bay as we trundled back in to the outskirts of Al Mouj, where the finishing arch rose impassively in front of us. Crowds lined the final 100m straight, and I treated them to my patented finishing kick in all its uncoordinated, gurning glory.
The organisation of the Muscat Half cannot be faulted and the event showcases the best of Omani hospitality. But the appeal of overseas events often lies in the destination as much as the race itself, and with this one you’ll get the chance to both lower your PB and broaden your horizons. The 2020 Muscat Half Marathon is on January 18. muscatmarathon.om