Registration is now open for the first City Half Marathon, taking place in the heart of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the official venue partner for the event.

The half marathon will take place during the annual 30-day Dubai Fitness Challenge.

Scheduled for October 25, this new, ultra-modern route is a first for Dubai, providing a unique opportunity for participants to run in the shadows of the iconic skyline and experience the beat of the inner city.

Endorsed by the Dubai Sports Council, this International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) measured course will begin in front of The Gate Building and loop around the picturesque Dubai International Financial Centre. The route features breathtaking views of the city’s well-known, architectural marvels, which organisers expect will attract thousands of runners and spectators from across the globe.

Peyman Al Awadhi, vice president and acting head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, DIFC Authority, commented: “We’re really excited about bringing together the local and global wellness community for the very first City Half Marathon, especially after the great response we’ve seen to a number of sporting events hosted at the Centre. It’s the perfect addition to our action-packed calendar of unique lifestyle, arts and cultural activations that reinforce the DIFC’s position not just as the ideal place to work, but also as the place where people want to live and play.” 

Khalid Ali Al Awar, director of sports events department, said: “The DIFC is home to some of Dubai's most iconic landmarks and a half marathon in this swanky, urban district will certainly be of huge interest to UAE's burgeoning band of distance runners, both the fitness-conscious amateurs and the hardened professionals among them. We have seen thousands of them line up for similar events in Dubai and across the country, and they will certainly cherish this band new opportunity to compete and test their limits."

“At Dubai Sports Council, we always encourage and support new events like these, which bring together different segments of our community and spread awareness about the benefits of sports, and encourage men, women and children to embrace a physically active lifestyle,” he said.

As one of the first major events of the season, the City Half Marathon is open to participants aged 16 years and over and will also feature 5km and 10km race categories to ensure involvement from all fitness levels.

Donal Kilalea, director, Promoseven Sports Marketing, said: “Dubai is lucky enough to see an abundance of sporting events, so the challenge was to create something new. The course we have designed offers a unique experience for the local community as well as appealing to an international audience, we are confident this event will become a staple on the Dubai sporting calendar.”

The IAAF has announced its intentions to remove both the 5,000m and 10,000m distances from the Diamond League from 2020 onwards. Launching an easily accessible, flat road course is the perfect time to appeal to competitive runners who beyond next year will need to seek out road races to achieve world records for these distances.

“Dubai has a flourishing running community and in light of the recent IAAF decision, we felt it was important to introduce this fast and flat course that has the potential to become a record-breaking route for competitive runners in the near future,” said Kilalea. - TradeArabia News Service