byLarry EderI do audio tapes and have for thirty-plus years. This is a transcription of an audiotape I did in January 2020, just before my trip to Dubai for the marathon. That was the last marathon at Dubai International Marathon due to the pandemic. The 2022 date is December 10, 2022, and I hope to be there.
But, for those trying to get a fast time for 2023 events, you might consider this early season event.
Worknesh Degefa, 2:19:38, 2020 Dubai International Marathon, photos courtesy of Dubai Marathon / Colombo
Larry: Hey sports fans, Larry Eder with RunBlogRun. It is podcast three, in the year 2020, and our zen question for today regards the Dubai Marathon. The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. And, why is it so darn fast? Now, I’ve been out there in 2018, 2019, I’ll be there in 2020, and for transparency’s sake, management flies me out, puts me in a hotel, and I also do live coverage of the event, as well. And yes, I do get compensated for that.
It’s the details in this event that make it most interesting. Peter Connerton is the race director and has been for many years. I think they’re now in year twenty-one. And the course is fast. Yes, and it is one of the few times of the year that you have fantastic weather: in the fifties and sixties. But what this is about, is the magic of competition. Most marathons around the world have– athletes who are paid just to show up. And they’re paid for their performance, too. And some people have taken advantage of that, but for the most part, that works pretty well. Peter does something different. He’s one of the few races that he’ll bring people in, but you’ve got to perform. And if you perform, and you’re in that top ten, top fifteen, top twenty, wherever the prize money goes, he’s going to share with you. And it’s big prize money. And what happened in 2018 was one of the deepest races on both men and women, that I’ve ever seen.
In 2019, fast, fast times, course records, and also incredibly deep performances.
And it’s primarily young Ethiopians and young Kenyans who’ve heard of the race and who get here, but it should be young Europeans and young Americans coming too. This is at a great time of the year, if you’ve had a nice long cross-country season, it’s a perfect time for you to show up and they will take great care of you.
But, this year’s event’s on the twenty-fourth of January, RunBlogRun will be there, we’ll be doing live coverage, or almost live, from the starting line and finish line. We’ll also do interviews on Facebook, and we’ll do some audio interviews, as well. But it should be a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to open the marathon year.
This is Larry Eder, with RunBlogRun, signing off. Make sure you check out our other platforms on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, our website, and our blog at runblogrun.com. Thank you to the Shoe Addicts for producing these podcasts. That’s Mike Deering; that’s Adam Johnson-Eder, and that’s AJ Felice. And thank you to Brian Eder for managing and founding and convincing me to do RunBlogRun, eleven or twelve years ago now.
Larry Eder, signing off.
