Dubai Marathon

Deksisa, Degefa Lead Elite Field for 2020 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon

Dubai Roads Take Shape For 21st Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon

2020 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon set for record numbers

Credit : Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon
 In another record-shattering day at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya became the third fastest woman in marathon history when she clocked 2.17.08, taking over two minutes off the 12 month old course record, and a minute off her own personal best, while more than hinting that, at 22, she might just be the woman to threaten Paula Radcliffe’s superlative time of 2.15.25, from London 2003. 
 Not to be outdone, Getaneh Molla of Ethiopia ran the fastest debut in history in breaking the men’s course record, also a year old, by half a minute, with 2.03.34, making him the sixth fastest man of all time. 
 In the women’s race, Chepngetich was followed home by former winner, Worknesh Degefa of Ethiopia, who also obliterated her personal best by justover two minutes, with 2.17.41, which makes her the fourth fastest in history. Although she lost ground in the last third of the race, staying with the leading duo for so long ensured that another Ethiopian, Gurmesa Edesa took three minutes off her best, finishing third in 2.21.05. 
 Likewise in the men’s race, Molla was tested until the final kilometre by compatriot Herpassa Negesa, who finished second in 2.03.40, excising over five minutes from his best, and securing him in eight place in history. There were mixed fortunes for another Ethiopian, Asefa Mengstu who finishedthird in 2.04.24, for though he improved one place from last year, he was 18 seconds slower. 
 It will be little consolation to Degefa to know that a time of 2.07.41 has never lost a marathon before, and indeed she contributed amply to Chepngetich’s success. The Kenyan was having problems identifying her drinks’ bottles at feed stations, and regularly fell behind at each table. When the pair had dropped Edesa and the rest before 35k, the same thing happened again, and having followed the Kenyan up to that point, Degefa sawthe opportunity to steal a march, with the objective of repeating her 2017 victory. She forged ahead, which woke Chepngetich to the danger, and she immediately launched her long drive to victory. It is a possibility that the lost time searching for drinks cost her the Kenyan/African record, heldby colleague Mary Keitany, the second fastest in history with 2.17.01. 
 But as Radcliffe, having commentated the race, drily observed about the danger of her record falling to Chepngetich, “She has the time; at 22, she is far more likely than any of the older women,” a nod surely in the direction of the 36 year old Keitany, who has long been touted as a threat to the 15 year old world mark. 
 Since her marathon debut in Istanbul 2017, winning in a very respectable 2.22.36, followed by a slightly slower second place in Paris in early 2018,the diminutive Chepngetich has taken giant strides. She returned to Istanbul two months ago, and ran four minutes faster than the previous year(2.18.35), and shooting into seventh place in history. She brushed off thefact that there are some potentially disruptive ups and downs in the finalstages of the course, with, “I train on hills, so I was not bothered”. Thecorollary to that is 2.17.08 on a completely flat course. 
 Molla said that he did not know what to expect from his first marathon, but that, “It certainly was not 2.03. I was hoping for maybe 2.05, 2.06”. But the possibility was always that a man who can run sub-13mins for 5000 metres (just) as he did last summer was going to thrive in the marathon, if he put in the work. That much was evident in the comfort and easy striding style he manifested as his more fancied compatriots, and Kenyan Emmanuel Saina dropped off the group of ten which maintained the sort of pace that was going to ensure a fast final time. The surprise was that it was regular 2.09 man, Herpassa Negasa who provided the springboard for Molla’s victory, dictating the pace which resulted in the pair ending up alone in the final kilometres. But it was the debutant who prevailed at the death. And despite his record debut victory, he indicated that, having won the Ethiopian 5000m title on the track four times, it was at that distance or the 10,000 metresthat he wants to compete in the World Track &amp; Field Championships in Doha later this year. 
 He can be sure that he will not experience there the same sort of weather conditions here today, which could barely have been better for this part of the world. The local media has been complaining all week about the ‘cold’ weather, which is to say the thermometer has barely climbed above 21C (70F); but starting before dawn in 16C (60F), and benefiting from cloud cover which kept the temperature at that level all race, meant that the athletes delivered. 
 In the last decade, since an influx of cash from the Dubai government, the marathon organisers, abetted by a flat, fast course have tempted the likes of Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele to beef up their kudos and record credentials; but, equally some little known athletes have made strong and rapid debuts here, contributing to some of the best in-depth marathon results anywhere in the world. Now in its 20th year, with some of the fastest times in history, Dubai has further burnished its claims to maintain a high ranking in the world of major marathons. 
 RESULTS 
 Men: 
 1. Getaneh Molla      ETH 2:03:34
2. Herpassa Negasa    ETH 2:03:40
3. Asefa Mengstu      ETH 2:04:24
4. Emmanuel Saina     KEN 2:05:02
5. Shifera Tamru      ETH 2:05:18
6. Kelkile Gezahegn   ETH 2:06:09
7. Adugna Takele      ETH 2:06:32
8. Birhanu Teshome    ETH 2:08:20
9. Fikadu Kebede      ETH 2:08:27
10. Tadesse Abraham   SUI 2:09:50
 
 Women: 
 1. Ruth Chepngetich   KEN 2:17:08
2. Worknesh Degefa    ETH 2:17:41
3. Worknesh Edesa     ETH 2:21:05
4. Waganesh Mekasha   ETH 2:22:45
5. Sintayehu Lewetegn ETH 2:25:59
6. Rahma Tusa         ETH 2:26:38
7. Muluhabt Tsega     ETH 2:27:36
8. Sule Utura         ETH 2:32:52
 

Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon Report/Results 

Credit : Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon
 Getaneh Molla Tamire outpaced more than 1821 runners to win in 02:03:34, establishing the new course record. He finished 6 seconds ahead of Herpassa Negasa Kitesa. Asefa Mengstu Negewo (02:04:24) made notched third place. 
 For the women,  it was Ruth Chepngetich (02:17:08) taking the top spot. She too set a new record for the course. Worknesh Degefa Debele earned runner-up honours with a time of 02:17:41. While Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa came in third at 02:21:05 
 Top 5 Men 

	
		1
		Getaneh Molla Tamire
		ETH
		02:03:34
	
	
		2
		Herpassa Negasa Kitesa
		ETH
		02:03:40
	
	
		3
		Asefa Mengstu Negewo
		ETH
		02:04:24
	
	
		4
		Emmanuel Kipkemboi Saina
		KEN
		02:05:02
	
	
		5
		Shifera Tamru Aredo
		ETH
		02:05:18
	

 Top 5 Women 

	
		1
		Ruth Chepngetich
		KEN
		02:17:08
	
	
		2
		Worknesh Degefa Debele
		ETH
		02:17:41
	
	
		3
		Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa
		ETH
		02:21:05
	
	
		4
		Waganesh Mekasha Amare
		ETH
		02:22:45
	
	
		5
		Sintayehu Lewetegn Hailemichael
		ETH
		02:25:59
	

 Complete results 

Results 2019: Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon

Thousands gather as Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2019 begins

Credit : Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon
 Guye Adola of Ethiopia and Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya have both run faster than the course records set in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon last year, so despite the reduction in prize money (of which more later), the organisers of Friday’s 20th running of the Gulf race firmly expect the traditional blanket fast times to continue in what they refer to as the only IAAF Gold Label race in the region. 
 No one could argue that Eliud Kipchoge is currently the best marathon marathon runner in the world, possibly of all time; but the Olympic champion and world record holder was pushed to the limit in the Berlin Marathon 15 months ago, when Adola led the Kenyan until 40k, and in his first marathon, no less. The Ethiopian was rewarded with the fastest debut in history, 2.03.46. 
 As so frequently happens in elite sport, an injury hampered his progress last year, and when sickness contributed to a lowly placing in London 2018, he only finished the race he said, “because I owed it to the organisers. Now I feel back close to my best,” he added before his coach intervened, with the veiled promise, “We would not have come if he was not ready”. 
 With rare exceptions, runners are notoriously reticent when it comes to predicting a successful race, and with all the things that can go wrong in the 42.195k of a marathon, rightly so; but it was not so much what she said as the manner of her responses which suggests that Chepngetich might triumph on Friday. No, she said, she hadn"t seen the course and was not overly bothered in doing so, but knew it was flat; the corollary to which is that she set her best of 2.18.35 in winning (for the second time in succession) in Istanbul two months ago. “And that was hilly at the end,” she said knowingly. “But I train in the Ngong Hills (outside Nairobi), so that didn”t bother me too much" 
 Neither, it seems does the prospect of racing another elite marathon so soon. “I think 50 days is plenty of time to recover,” she said; and having won the half-marathons of Istanbul, Milan and Paris within two months just under two years ago, who could argue with her? 
 Nevertheless, the traditional deep fields in Dubai suggest that both she and Adola will have their work cut out to add another victory to their records. Among leading rivals, Lemi Berhanu in the men’s race, and Worknesh Degefa in the women’s, have both won here in the recent past, Berhanu in 2015, and Degefa in 2016. And as for those blanket finishes, the record speaks for itself. 
 There have only been three marathons in history where four men ran faster than 2.05, and six women bettered 2.22, both in the same race; and they have all come in Dubai. And in last year’s event, seven men broke 2.05, and four women broke 2.20. So, even though a world record may have eluded them, despite the past presence of Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, the overall race record reeks excellence. 
 Which brings us to the reasons behind the reduction in prize pot, over the contentious issue of impending rule changes for the coveted IAAF race labels. “For the time being,” said founding Race Director, Peter Connerton, "we are going to continue our policy of paying very good prize money ($100,000 for both winners), but not appearance money, as other top races do. Because we believe it’s the performance on the day that counts. 
 “The Dubai prize money is reduced for 2019 as a result of a decision by the IAAF to exclude the Dubai Marathon from the opportunity of becoming a Platinum label in the new athletics event ranking system. The Dubai Marathon, with the support of the Dubai Government has since 2008 contributed over US$11 million is prize money, tax free, to the Marathon event, attracting to its shores some of the biggest names in the sport including Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. 
 “The hierarchy of the sport has decided for the marathon that to be a Platinum label you must have 15,000 finishers. By default, this excludes Dubai from that category. After contributing so much to the sport since 2008, we feel let down by the sport, after the initiative of His Royal Highness back in 2007 to promote Dubai and the Marathon.” 
 Selected elite runners with personal best 
 Men 
 Guye Adola       ETH 2:03:46
Asefa Mengstu    ETH 2:04:06
Sisay Lemma      ETH 2:04:08
Lemi Berhanu     ETH 2:04:33
Kelkile Gezahegn ETH 2:05:06
Emmanuel Saina   KEN 2:05:21
Seboka Dibaba    ETH 2:06:17
Tadesse Abraham  SUI 2:06:40
Adugna Takele    ETH 2:08:31
Shifera Tamru    ETH 2:08:50
Yenew Alamirew   ETH 2:08:56
Birhanu Teshome  ETH 2:09:03
Getaneh Molla    ETH Debut
 
 Women 
 Ruth Chepngetich   KEN 2:18:35
Worknesh Degefa    ETH 2:19:53
Sharon Cherop      KEN 2:22:28
Sintayehu Lewetegn ETH 2:22:45
Rahma Tusa         ETH 2:23:46
Birke Debele       ETH 2:25:28
Muluhabt Tsega     ETH 2:25:48
Waganesh Mekasha   ETH 2:25:57
 
 (Friday’s event will be live-streamed online with no geoblocking rights or restrictions, at www.dubaimarathon.org. The elite marathon, commentated by world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe and Pat Butcher, begins at0600 Gulf time, 0200gmt) 

News: Dubai Marathon

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