Elite fields take shape for Dubai Marathon

With less than a month to go, the elite fields are taking shape for the Dubai Marathon.

The first international marathon of the new year will take place on January 7, featuring a host of big names.

The African powerhouse nations of Kenya and Ethiopia have already added Dubai to their racing calendars with Rotterdam and Osaka Marathon winner Haiven Hailu Desse and 2023 Rome Marathon champion Betty Chepkwony looking to add to their title collection in the women’s field.

Hailu, 25, has already excelled over the marathon distance with those victories in the Netherlands in April 2022 (2:22:01) and a year later in Japan (2:21:13), while her personal best of 2:20:19 came when finishing third in the Amsterdam Marathon of 2019.

Chepkwony made her breakthrough on the international marathon scene by winning the Rome Marathon nine months ago in a personal best time of 2:23:02. It was a telling statement from the 28-year-old who trailed early on inside the first 10km and then fell 17 seconds behind at half-way, before showing remarkable resilience to claw back the time to win and better her previous personal best by a massive seven minutes and 26 seconds.

In the men’s field, Ethiopians Workineh Tadese Mandefro and Kebede Tulu Wami lead the way with both looking to win their first Dubai Marathon titles.

A personal best of 2:05:07 from the Hamburg Marathon in 2022 was a major improvement on Mandefro's marathon journey shaving more than two minutes of his previous PB set at the Amsterdam Marathon six months earlier.

Another of the fastest elite men, Wami has been on a steady upward journey in his short marathon journey. Since finishing eighth at the 2020 Mumbai Marathon, he has consistently lowered his personal best every time he has completed the marathon distance.

Events in Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands and Barcelona culminated in a new personal best of 2:05:19 and second place at the Seville Marathon in February 2023.

Runners who have still not registered for the three-race event, can sign up online for the 10km Marathon and 4km Fun Run.