RAK Half Marathon: World's fastest runners descend on RAK with record time in their sights

Sport360 staff 11:59 20/02/2020
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Brigid Kosgei

    The fastest half marathon in the world isn’t a rhetorical title. Indeed, the RAK half marathon could witness new world records on Friday with the participation of 10 elite male runners with career-best times dipping under 60 minutes and nine female runners under the 67-minute mark.

    There is plenty of incentive with a AED1.2 million prize fund on offer as marathon organisers hope the event will be a launchpad to encourage more sport tourism in RAK. This is the vision of Raki Phillips, CEO of RAK Tourism Development, who says the event is part of a wider plan to attract about three million tourists to the emirate by 2025.

    The race begins on Friday at 7am and race director Andrea Trappio says an important addition has been added to the event this year with suitable places for the crowd to watch included on route to help encourage greater public participation.

    The organisers hope to see a new world record set for both men (current record is 58:01) and women (64:51) categories and event director Federico Rosa said: “We expect a great race and we will strive to push the runners to achieve new records with this being one of the strongest fields ever assembled for this event.”

    Women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei will be in contention with her career-best time of 64:28 marking the Kenyan runner out as the one to beat with the 26-year-old commenting that a new best half marathon time “depends on the weather”, while Fancy Chemutai, the owner of the second best ever half-marathon time which was achieved in RAK in 2018, is hoping to surpass her personal best on Friday.

    The men’s category will be just as fierce with Alexander Mutiso owning the fastest half marathon time of the year so far with his personal best set in Spain where he clocked 59:09. The 23-year-old is confident he can go much faster in RAK and hot on his heels will be Switzerland’s Julien Wanders, the European half marathon record holder.

    Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider will also be one to watch with the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist in the 1500m and former 1500m World Indoor Champion competing in his first ever half marathon. He is targeting a time under an hour and he holds ambitions of “writing history on the road as he had done previously on the track.”

    Race information

    Friday, 21 February 2020

    Official start of the race: 7:00 am

    Expected arrival: First place for Elite (men): 07:58

    Expected arrival to the first place of the elite (women): 08:04

    Elite Awards Distribution (Live Transfer): 08:20

    Prizes for the age classified players and Half Marathon Awards continue: 10:15

    Beginning of the 5 km race: 10:30

    The start of the (Fun Run) race 1 km: 11:00

    End of activity: 12:00

    Recommended