- What? The 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon - distance 42.195 km. An annual event, first Dubai Marathon under S & C sponsorship was 07 January 2005. Before that it was Samsung sponsored.
- Where? Start & Finish at Zabeel Park Area B, Gate 6 (near Dubai World Trade Centre). See below for more details and route maps.
- When? Friday 18 January 2008. Marathon start time 7am, 10 km Road Race 10:30am? Fun Run 11:30am (2007 start times were Marathon 7am, 10km road race 7:10am, Fun Run 10:30am). 2008 times taken from maps, not confirmed.
- How much? AED 300 - See Entry Fees information below for more details
- Organisers?
- Main Sponsors?
- Contact? Dubai Marathon Office, PO Box 57176, Dubai, UAE. Tel +971-4-4335669 (from last year's information). Or try the Dubai Marathon Press Office tel +971-4-3512887.
Prize money of US$1,000,000 ($1 million or AED 3.67 million) makes it the richest marathon in the world. Dubai Holding is handing over the cash.
Register online before 31 December 2007 online, by post (Dubai Marathon Office, PO Box 57176, Dubai, UAE) before 25 December 2007 for UAE applications and 20 December 2007 for overseas entries, or at Fitness First centers in the UAE (Ibn Battuta Mall, Uptown Mirdiff, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Festival City, Bur Juman Center, Dubai Media City). No registration on the day, participants must pre-register before the deadline.
Participants must also collect their run numbers before the race - on 16 or 17 January 2008 at the Dubai World Trade Center between 9am and 9pm.
Entry fees:
Marathon AED 300 for UAE residents, or US$80 for overseas participants
10 km Road Race AED 150 or US$40
4 km Fun Run / Charity Run AED 40 km or US$10
Marathon and run routes:
PDF Maps for Marathon (download, 1.8 MB), Road Race Map (download, 0.1 MB), Fun Run (download, 0.1 MB)
Marathon: Around Zabeel Park, along Trade Center Road, down Al Adhid Rd towards Port Rashid, to Union House (the big flag), along Jumeirah Beach Road to Souk Madinat Jumeirah and back again along the same route to Zabeel Park.
10km Road Race: From Zabeel Park to Doha Road, around a couple of roundabouts, up and down 2nd Zabeel Road, back to the start line, and do it again.
4 km Charity Run: Same route as 10km Road Race but only one loop and one of the Zabeel roundabouts.
Other Dubai Marathon information
Champion long-distance runner Haile Gebrelassie from Ethiopia will attend. Good luck trying to beat him, he won the Berlin Marathon in October 2007 with a world record time of 2h:04m:26s, an average speed of more than 20 km/hr - faster than your average commuter on a bicycle but unlikely to set off a speed camera in Dubai. He's hoping to break 2h 4 min, and set a new world record, in the Dubai Marathon.