THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION KAMWOROR AND FORMER WORLD RECORD HOLDER YESHANEH LEAD ELITE FIELDS AT THE RAS AL KHAIMAH HALF MARATHON

Registration Open at rakhalfmarathon.com

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, 9 February 2026: The 19th Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, to be staged on Saturday (February 14), will feature a powerful elite field led by three-time World Champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya and former Women’s World Record holder Ababel Yeshaneh from Ethiopia – both former Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon winners in 2013 and 2020 respectively.

Habz 3:33.36, Hunter-Bell 4:00.04 WL, Mahuchikh 201 lead Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting (WIT Gold), January 8, 2026

Furlani & Saraboyukov 839 WL, Schrub 7:29.38 EL/NR, Bol 1:59.07 at Meeting Metz (February 8, 2026)

Attaoui 2:14.52 ER/WL, de Sousa 697 WL/MR, Llopis 7.45 NR at Madrid Meeting Indoor (February 6, 2026)

The Kenyan is among the greatest half marathon runners of all time achieving a hat-trick of gold medals at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2018, winning the highly competitive World Cross Country title twice, and claiming victory in the New York Marathon on two occasions (2017 and 2019).

Kamworor achieved his breakthrough when he won the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 2013, smashing his personal best by over half a minute with 58:54. Six years later he broke the half marathon world record with a personal best of 58:01 in Copenhagen, which makes him the eighth fastest half marathon runner of all time and the fastest on the Ras Al Khaimah start list.

Like Kamworor, Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh is another world-class athlete. She ran a spectacular 64:31 world record in the 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, leaving behind a world-class field and improving the former record by 20 seconds.

She launched her international career as a 19 year-old back in 2011 when she competed for the military. She took ninth place in the 10,000m final at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and finished 14th in the Olympic 5,000m final in 2016.

Besides the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, she has also won half marathons in Istanbul and Buenos Aires and achieved podium finishes at marathons in Boston, Chicago and New York. Following her world record-breaking performance six years ago, Yeshaneh returned to Ras Al Khaimah twice more – recording a non-finish in 2022 before finishing runner-up in 2024 with a fast time of 65:44.

First staged in 2007, the Ras Al Khaimah race has proved to be one of the fastest half marathons on the international circuit and this year the event will again feature four different race distances held exclusively on Al Marjan Island.

In addition to elite superstars like Kamworor and Yeshaneh in the headline race, the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon will also see participants coming together for the associated 2km, 5km and 10km events. Registration for all four races is open at rakhalfmarathon.com.

The 2026 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is also sponsored by ASICS, Channel 4 Radio Network. ITP Media Group, Bisleri and Vitamin Well.

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA)

The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) was established in May 2011 under the government of Ras Al Khaimah. RAKTDA aims to develop the Emirate’s tourism infrastructure and establish Ras Al Khaimah as a world-class destination for leisure and business travel, creating sustainable investment opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for its residents. In order to achieve its goals, the Authority has a government mandate to license, regulate and monitor the Emirate’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Hashtag: #VisitRasAlKhaimah

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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