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Dubai Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Dubai Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.4 
Organization 3.0 
Spectators 2.5
Number of comments: 54 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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J. C. from Dubai, UAE
(2/6/2010)
"Well Advertised - Poorly Organized" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I agree with the other comments listed, and find it a bit refreshing that I was not the only one who felt that there were issues. The biggest issue was that the race was not well organized. I have no idea when the marathon actually began. There was no horn or announcement. My only notification was from the 10K runners who told me to hurry. The officials that were on the course seemed completely clueless as to how things should have been organized. Signs to the start, corrals for runners, and a true start time/horn would have been nice. There were also no official clocks on the course. At the 10K mark, I got a bit nervous when the station had run out of water. Luckily the other stations had water, but that was it... no gels/GU or Gatorade-type fluids. There was no finisher's t-shirt. The t-shirt at the packet pickup was a heavy cotton t-shirt that was sorely disappointing. I had hoped that they would have had an expo with Dubai Marathon gear, but unfortunately there was nothing. | |
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M. A. from Canadian living in Qatar
(1/28/2010)
"Did not treat people right" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Finished in 3.3 hours. I carry my own GU gel, which saved me. While there was lots of water provided, the organizers should never use Umbro again for isotonic drinks. Find a sponsor who can take the number of entrants and multiply it by 10 to get the minimum required number of drinks. There was no food at the finish line. Did not like the cobblestone "speed bumps" on the course, or the fact that the organizers changed the course at the last week and introduced two 90-degree turns within 400 meters of the finish line. Won't likely run Dubai again as part of my "marathon tourism." | |
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E. D. from ex-pat in Kuwait
(1/27/2010)
"Not great for the slower runner" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Seems a lot of what I have to say has been said. This is a marathon that wants the publicity of having big-name elite runners, yet because it doesn't have a time cut-off, quite a few of us sign up thinking we can run without worries. This was not the case, though. This is not a race for the non-elite. They ran out of water at the 10K stop, so I ended up running with a water bottle just in case. They did have water at the remaining stops, but no sports drinks (luckily, I carry my own GU). I was told by police that the road was opening at 11:45 a.m., when all the signs clearly said 1 p.m. For those who haven't experienced Gulf drivers, it is not safe to run on the road with them on an open road. I saw one race official arguing with the police, so I hope that they didn't know they were opening early. Anyway, I was glad I was near the end, but I know that there were people behind me. At the end of the race, all I got was a bottle of water - that's it. No sports drink, no food, nothing. I didn't even see a place to return my timing chip (so I still have it). I also couldn't find the family meeting area. It was on the race map, but no one had any idea where it was. There were no race officials around to ask. I finally left without finding out if my friend was still there (he wasn't). In all, it was not my best marathon experience, but I had low expectations (due to the last-minute heatwave). I knew I'd go extra slowly, and I carried a camera to make me a true "Marathon Tourist." I always meet great people at the back of the race, so I was not disappointed in that respect. However, for $100, I would like a bit more than just new friends. | |
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R. S. from Dubai
(1/26/2010)
"Disappointing Experience" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 The start of the marathon was missed, as most marathon runners (blue tickets) found themselves standing at the 10K mark, due to lack of assistance from the race officials. There was no water at the 10K mark, and the sports drinks were available only up to the 5K mark. THere was nothing thereafter. The traffic was let into the running course at 10:30 a.m. The Dubai police claimed that this was cleared by the sponsors. All signs on the course confirmed that the road would be closed until 1 p.m. Running on the sidewalk, trying to dodge pedestrians, wasn't a lot of fun - not to mention a health risk. | |
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D. S. from USA
(1/25/2010)
"shabby treatment by race organizers for non-elite" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was the 130th marathon that I have completed. Of all the marathons I have completed, this is the only one I would recommend my fellow runners to avoid. While any race is bound to have some negative aspects, I find the organization of this race to greatly outweigh any positives of the event. I have run in races before with elite runners, but I have never before seen race directors so focused on the elites to the detriment of the non-elite runners. The main positive aspect of this race is that the course is closed to traffic and runs through some scenic sections of Dubai. This is a very flat course; however, temperatures were warm and humid, with little shade on the course. This marathon bills itself as the richest marathon in the world, due to $1,000,000 prize purse. The race directors are mainly focused on generating publicity for the elite field. There was a lot of promotion by the race directors prior to race about a world record being broken. The race organization let the non-elite runners down. There was supposed to be sports drink every 5K, according to the race guide. I only saw sports drink at two stations early in the race. If you were going to be getting sports drink for the entire race, you either had to be elite, or running around a 3-hour pace. I don't understand how a race can pay a million-dollar prize purse but can't afford to provide sports drink to the runners. I have run marathons in several countries. I have found the race support to be better in third world countries. The non-elite runners were kept about one tenth of a mile from the starting lines where the elites were. As a result, we could not hear the announcmenets. The number of elite athletes was not so large as to require such a large separation. When it was time to start, the non-elites were not allowed to move closer to the start, so you ran about a tenth of a mile to get to the start. The race is chipped timed. Let the rest of us runners up closer; as participants in the event, we would like to hear what is being said. Usually at the start of race there is some introduction of the elites and us non-elites are interested in hearing these announcements. Race organization did not return email inquiries prior to the race. My guess is that you had to be an elite athlete to get a response from them. Other issues of note: The race started at 6;30 a.m. but you were not allowed to drop off gear until 6:00 am. The number of toilets were probably not adequate. This was not an issue for me, as I had anticipated long lines and got their early. The restrooms were clean portable trailer types. Registration fee is $100 and you get very little for that amount. You got a cotton t-shirt at pickup. I was hoping for a technical shirt for that kind of race fee. The program guide said marathon finishers would receive a finisher's t-shirt. I didn't see any finisher's shirts at the finish line. Perhaps they ran out of them like they ran out of the sports drink. Not much in the way of food after the race. Not even bagels or fruit. There were some crackers and soup provided by some sponsors of the race. No food was provided by organizers themselves, but there were lots of booths set up where you could buy something to eat. I did manage to get some sports drink at the finish line, but it was too little, too late. The elites did not break the world record and I came pretty close to a personal worst time. I would recommend visiting Dubai for a vacation, but the marathon support is not good for the non-elite athletes. | |
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Fayyaz Alam from Dubai
(1/25/2010)
"Glad I had money with me" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 There was no proper announcement for the start of the marathon. Realized after 10 minutes that the marathon has started because everyone around was waiting for the 10K start. Too bad that the organizers could not arrange enough drinks. I was running my first marathon and was in the last quarter of the runners. Just got a quarter-glass of isotonic drink in one station. Luckily I had some money to buy drinks from the petrol stations, but then wasted time in that. That and the Coke, chocolates, bananas and jelly beans from the spectators kept me going. :) | |
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J. R. from Dubai
(1/24/2010)
"Shame about the energy drinks!" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was a first for me, having lived in Dubai for 4 years. The start had two sets of toilets, which made for long queues for the gents. There was no countdown and no order to the start; it was just everyone bunched up together. One problem was there were isotonic drinks up until 20K, but after that, we were told that they had run out, as they only had a limited stock!!!! So there was only water the rest of the way - bad organization. Thank god for the fans buying Coke, jelly beans, Haribo and bananas for us all or we would not have made it. It was a boring course, straight up and down. Most were serious runners aiming for the quickest time; there was no fundraising and no fancy dress. A nice run, but not fun! And a shame about the energy drinks! | |
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wayne gibbons from nyc
(10/23/2009)
"spectacular" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is spectacular. If you want to sight-see, do so; just don't use a marathon as your venue. | |
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D. M. from Dubai, UAE
(7/15/2009)
"Pretty good" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first race, but I've attended many. The course is straight up and straight back, which is a little boring. Fans are fantastic and dispersed well throughout. Water was not an issue at all. Weather was absolutely perfect (cool and cloudy, even with a light rain). The lack of toilets leaves some runners to get creative at times. | |
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J. B. from Dubai, UAE
(1/17/2009)
"Shame about the lack of support" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dubai Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This was my first marathon. Bearing that in mind, I thought that in general the organization was okay. There were plenty of water/isotonic stations with enthusiastic attendants. We nearly missed the start at there was no countdown or announcement. The medal was presented right after the finish line, and drinks/sandwiches were right there too. |
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