That is the preview of the 2025 Dubai Marathon, written by Deji Ogeyinbgo for RunBlogRun. The 2025 race is January 12, 2025, and will be watched dwell at www.dubaimarathon.org at 6 am Dubai Native time! RunBlogRun will present distant social commentary through the dwell 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 probably the most anticipated occasions within the marathon calendar. The Dubai Marathon is thought for its quick and flat course, a route that winds by means of a number of the metropolis’s most iconic landmarks, together with Jumeirah Seaside Highway, Al Sufouh, and Umm Suqeim Highway. This race gives 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 discipline 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 finest marathoners toeing the road, this yr’s Dubai Marathon is shaping as much as be one other memorable race.
Males’s Race: A Star-Studded Area
The lads’s race at this yr’s Dubai Marathon incorporates a group of runners with a mixture of established stars and rising expertise. Main the best way is former World Marathon Champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia. The 34-year-old returns to the town the place he introduced himself on the world stage again in 2013. Desisa’s victory in Dubai that yr, when he ran a private finest of two:04:45, marked his debut on the marathon distance and set the tone for what would turn out to be a embellished 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 very anticipated. His 2013 victory, which noticed him outlast a bunch of challengers with a time that was one of many quickest marathon debuts in historical past, was only the start. Since then, he has remained a fixture on the prime of the game. After a quick hiatus from worldwide competitors, his reappearance will probably be a spotlight for each spectators and fellow runners.
Difficult Desisa will probably be Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, who holds the quickest marathon time within the discipline. Kimetto’s private finest of two:02:57 was set on the Berlin Marathon in 2014 and was a world report on the time. Though he has not raced since 2019, the 40-year-old Kenyan’s spectacular credentials can’t be neglected. If he can return to his finest type, Kimetto may very well be a critical contender for the highest spot.
One other contender to observe is Dino Sefir, an Ethiopian marathoner who has constantly delivered sturdy performances. In 2012, he clocked a private finest of two:04:50 in Dubai, which stays one of many quickest non-winning instances within the race’s historical past. Since then, Sefir has been a daily in main marathons, together with prime finishes in Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Barcelona. He will probably be trying so as to add one other spectacular end result to his profession.
Shifera Tamru, one other Ethiopian runner, has additionally been acting at a excessive stage. With a private finest of two:05:18 and a robust 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, exhibits that he’s in stable type heading into this race.
Ladies’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, will probably be one of many prime favorites. Girma has a protracted checklist of achievements, together with victories within the Beirut, Guangzhou, and Sydney marathons. She has constantly been on the entrance of the pack, setting private bests and ending within the prime positions at main marathons. Her most up-to-date end result was a win on the 2022 Sydney Marathon, the place she clocked a private finest 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 finest of two:19:07. Yimer has proven that she will be able to compete on the highest stage, and he or she will probably 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 finest of two:20:03 on the 2022 Valencia Marathon and has proven regular enchancment within the years since. With a robust season’s finest of two:26:00, Woldu will probably be seeking to break into the elite ranks in Dubai.
One to regulate 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 yr. 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 will probably be returning to Dubai seeking a second victory and maybe one other report.
With so many proficient girls lining up, the race for the rostrum is anticipated to be fierce. The competitors in Dubai has all the time been powerful, and this yr, it appears to be like set to be no completely 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 a press release on the worldwide stage. The flat and quick course makes it among the best locations on the planet for marathoners to interrupt private bests and even set world information. With such a robust discipline in each the lads’s and girls’s races, this yr’s Dubai Marathon guarantees to be an exciting contest, with loads of storylines to comply with.
