Johannes Heym's Staging Area

The Forssa Summer Night races are part of a weekend full of sports with different distances for running on Saturdays and bike riding on Sundays.
However, the name is misleading since the races start at noon and 2023 was a hot June! All races start in the area of the ice hockey and track and field stadiums. The halfmarathon took us out along a boring regional road to Tamela (road was not completely blocked) and after a loop more or less the same way back (marathoners run that round twice). And we finished in the track and field stadium. I m not a big fan of when you get to a stadium and you can see the finish line, the organisers make you run a whoooooooole long round. I definitely struggled with the heat and was happy to have finished alive and kicking. The post-race buffet was amazing though! besides your water, electrolytes, coffee and tea, all runners could replenish the calories and fluids that they lost on track with sweet rolls, rice waffles, yoghurts, cucumbers, bananas and hot dogs…

I was very happy that we could run a race in these new times. Production was smooth. We picked up the bib at the City Theater where the start and finish of the race was. On race day we went to the Paavo Nurminen Stadium just a couple m away from start were we could drop the bags. Starting was in a couple of waves each 5minutes apart. Temps were about 21 and in the middle of the race it started to drizzle. Great running conditions. Water and elctrolytes every 2.5km. We ran along the Auro River, through some industrial areas, alonmg a street out of town and through some fields. Despite the weather some spectators were cheering along the way. After crossing the Finnish finish line (pun intended), we were given a bag with smoothies, alcohol free beer and other food. I signed up about 2 weeks before the race to see how travel restriction will develop and how/if travelling would be possible, paid 72 Euros but no shirt, no medal 🙁

… in the 80ies (1984) and Balkan war in the 90ies were my two associations with Sarajevo.
The city is a mix of modern architecture and shopping malls, ruins of the war, bohemian buildings from before WW1 when it still “belonged” to Austria, but also hundreds of mosques, churches and a huge traditional market area.

I got to know the race director of NGO Sarajevo Marathon last year in Beirut and I knew that I would have to go and run that race.
The Sarajevo half commemorated the Olympic Games of 1984 in its 2019 edition with specially designed T-shirt’s and medals. The bib pick up was held in a cultural Center and a DJ entertained the athletes- even a small buffet was offered on Saturday afternoon. The race started on Sunday in the middle of the town in front of a complex called Sarajevo City Center.
The start was a but confusing for me since the shorter fun race started from a paralell corridor at the same time and the runners from the half marathon and that race (many children) mixed chaotically. The first stretch was along the river, out of town and with a uturn back into town, where a longer (bit uphill) section followed. After another uturn and a short track run through the Olympic stadium, we were brought back to the start area and ran another out and about along the river again- to the other direction (with two smaller added uturn section. Fall in Sarajevo is mild to warm, I loved the conditions that day. Plenty of water along the route. But the km markets were in parts completly off and confused many runners. The finish area had some companies like local gyms giving away stuff, photo booth for free photos and more.
All in all a very pleasant race experience and I enjoyed the trip to Bosnia but would have wished to have more time to spend there.
Sarajevo is situated between many hills; and the race is not flat (though the RD promised me to try to make it flatter next year) and the city is between post communism, destruction by war and new developments between traditional structures- to me, it has a lot to offer and is relatively inexpensive (went to the opera the night before the race, many cute coffees, … ) In some places you need to have the local money since credit cards are not excepted everywhere. The airport is small but functional, cab rides to the cities are about 10-25 KM (some cab drivers night try to ask for a different “fixed price”).

Blueberry Cove Halfmarathon was a lovely race. About 200 ppl in Tenant Harbour, ME who raced to collect money in order to bring children from less fortunate families out to a camp farm. A lot of heart and uniqueness from the race bib numbers (re used cut outs from bed linen) to the finish line with swimmers from cages of lobster farms and not to forget the exceptional pre race dinner with chowder and blueberry pie (one had to pay extra) as well as the post race brunch (was included)…
Medals for everyone, mugs for the overall winner and age group winners. No other swag but with the awesome brunch, I still gave 5 stars in the swag category.
The course on paved roads is not certified (i think it was 0.1 miles short). It leads in a circle from the camp along the peninsula (you pass by the lighthouse that Forrest Gump ran to) back to camp. It is hilly, so not your best shot for a pb.

There is a huge hype around RAK (Ras al Khaimah) halfmarathon which supposedly is the half marathon with the highest overall price money. But it is not only the price money the fames that race but also numerous records that were ran by the elites who got drawn to that part of UAE about an hour by car from Dubai Airport.
The organisers advertise RAK marathon as fastest in the world. The current record for women was run there. But the RD claims that when you average the times of the top ten finishers of every race, there is no other race that is as fast…
Well, I was not in proper training after my winter running break to give my body a rest. We got to RAK the day before and stayed in a DoubleTree opposite of where the race starts. It was a complete new route in 2019 on a newly finished artificial island but only a few buildings/ hotels where finished. UAE residents get their bib via mail, all others can pick it up in the evening before the race or race morning. Since we were there already, we picked up our bibs in the evening- within two minutes we got our bib and little RAK marathon backpack.
Race day: everything was easy, we smoothly got in our corals. The streets were wide and it didn’t feel crowded to me (I started with the first 300). One big loop on the mainland, returning to the start area and one big loop on the island. We saw dessert, palms and a bit of sea. Nothing overwhelming but also not completely boring. After the finish line we got huge heavy medals and a bag with goodies: drinks, snacks and a reusable RAK Marathon coffee mug.
I was very happy with my time, temperatures were perfect, smooth race production, flattest race I have ever run…. oooh and free race photos!!!

… and yet the race feels small. Why? Because less than 6 out of 47.5k runners actually finish the full and half marathon. Most of the runners are local families and school kids doing the 8k / fun race.

I just got back from Lebanon and still have to sort my impressions. Many people have false impressions: the country is very welcoming but the society is diverse and partially you will see remains of the civil war next to hyper modern buildings. Beirut felt super safe to me, not even at night did I feels once unsafe. Uber is available but roaming/ finding WiFi can be troublesome in some areas.

The marathon was founded by May al Khalil who was badly hurt when a truck struck her jogging and almost killed her. After time in coma and numerous operations she wanted to change the mindset of people and wanted to spread peace through running as well as a health message. (May even got award with a Laureus Sports Award for her engagement).

But back to the race: the small expo (only for the half/ full and international runners) featured some races and food as well as an partially interactive show / sports lessons on stage. The race started at the waterfront in waves (full at 6:30/ half at 7am and led the runners along the corniche (promenade) into more industrial and residential areas. Many parts had “out and back” loops where you could see fellow runners racing in the different direction. Some bridges and mild up/downhills but still relatively flat (event record for men around 2:10:40). Plenty of water stops in mild temperatures (around 17-20 degrees centigrade). Some clubs and sponsors put up tents and music but not a “heavily crowd-supported race”. The finish is at martyrs square with views to St George cathedral and mosque Mohammed al amin.

I had the honour and pleasure to be part of a “guests delegation” and met the elite runners as well as race officials and race organisers from all over the world which was super inspiring. Though there were some minor flaws in the organisation, I give the race including the experience of Beirut a 5* rating (especially knowing that everybody involved put extra power into the event after two budget cuts).

Tallinn Marathon (Tallinna Maraton) offfers various races over 3 days. 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of Estonia and therefor the marathon was marketed as biggest running event in the Baltic’s ever and even the president of the country started the full marathon on Sunday. I did not only participate in the half marathon on Sunday but also in the 5K on Friday and 10k on Saturday. The organisers said that more than 25,000 people participated in all the races. Start and finish was for all races the Freedom Square at the bottom of the pitoresque medieval old town of Tallinn. The expo was sufficient for the bib pick up. My biggest complaint were the very tight and to me insufficient starting corals. I was not aware how strict the coral enforcement would be. For the 5k (that fastly was led through narrow streets and narrow park pathes) I was put in the third coral behind 2 thousand runners, mainly pupils. I could race the race as I had hoped. There was a lot of sudden changes of the “lanes”, sudden stops and other dangerous running behaviour and I saw many people falling. Same for the 10k with many inexperienced runners in the front who didn’t look to the side or over their shoulders when they were suddenly changing their tracking. I was way more relaxed on day three when I started in the second coral at the halfmarathon. The course was interesting but for the half it had some loops and out and back parts where I would have wished to see more Tallinn’s beauty. The last half mile is on cobble stones and includes a slight elevation. Exhausted runners feet might not like that…. overall it was a great experience especially since Tallinn is a welcoming place and offers a variety of amazing restaurants that are comparatively cheap.
5k 20:48
10k 44:05
Half 1:35:20

Thresholdsports organises a double marathon in Southern England to honour the ancient Kings who resided and were buried in Winchester. And that’s where their race finishes. The full distance is 52.4 miles but one has also the option to run the race in two unevenly splitted races (about 23.4 miles and 30 miles) or run/ walk only day or only day two.
When I did research for races that fit in my 20-20 challenge for 2018 (20 fulls and 20 halfs), I came across the race cause my running club (Half Fanatics/ Marathon Maniacs) would count day one as half (13.1 plus miles but less than a full marathon) and day two as marathon (anything 26.2 miles or more).

So I opted for the split-up option with an overnight camp. Two-day race weekend are highly appreciated in a full summer schedule…

My brother gave me is ultra light sleeping bag that I could fit in the hand luggage and the tents plus mattresses would be provided by the organisers- sweet deal. 😊

I flew to London Heathrow after work and took a national express bus to Winchester where I spent the first night in a lovely Airbnb close to the Park n Ride. From there, the shuttle bus to Arundel/ starting point of the race left at 5:45am.
Everything was set up at the start at Gaston Farm in Arundel: the check-in for the foreigners (UK residents got their bib via mail), photo walls, water supplies and porta potties… my tension was rising. Being sometimes a bit competitive in races, I really didn’t want to overpace the first 36 km/ 22 miles of day one and I wanted to have enough energy for the second day.
The race / first wave started on time at 8:00am and some hundred people started moving and making their way over, along and inbetween fields of wheat, cattle and sheep. Later we turned into the forrest and the newbie to trail races that I was, I was wondering how quickly it got really narrow ( two runners side by side later one after the other). I loved the first part of the race to the first pit stop and again I was wondering…. this time about how much options of food (cereal and nut bars, bananas, chocolates) we had besides water, energy gels and electrolyte tablets.
The South Downs Way offers a beautiful changing landscape and for runners, walkers and mountain bikers it is a hilly challenge. Shortly before the second pit stop (about km23), I started to feel my groin- an old “injury” from last year that slowed me down and made me careful. I missed several weeks of running because of it last summer… thinking about it, I felt my spirits sinking and it felt harder to move forward. Nonetheless, step by step I got closer to pit stop 2 and had a longer break there. That stop offered different wraps and sandwiches on top to what the first pit stop had. So I took a “wrap and chips” break before I continued. With temperatures of 25 degrees, I did appreciate the beautiful sections in the forest and my running started to feel easier again. My abdominal discomfort was gone. I reached pitstop 3 aka the basecamp after 36km/ 22 miles and a cumulative elevation gain of 850m about 2700feet before noon. And I was done! I felt weak and at this point I couldn’t see me running the next day again with a similar elevation gain but 13 more km/ 8 more miles.
The tents were all set up and I checked in. I was one of the very first to use the posh showers (literally, that was their name) and got a back massage.

The Marquee / main tent at the base camp had a great catering section! Hot pasta and pasta salad, baked potato corners, veggies warm and cold, soups and rolls. Later for dinner, they served on top of that 4kinds of pizza, lemon tart with merengue and rhubarb crumble with vanilla sauce- heaven! Orange and black current juice, water and hot drinks (tea, instand chocolate and instand coffee) were free, “real coffee” (also iced) and alcoholic beverages could be purchased.
I sat on a beanie bag or camping chair for most of the rest of the day in the lounge area of the marquee where I ate and drank and ate and drank (only one beer- don’t get a wrong impression), I felt so verveless…

Since it was football World Cup, all games were shown on TV in the tent. Outside, people were taning, dancing or participated in Yoga. When Germany started playing against England, I was a tiny bit uncomfortable since almost everybody was cheering for the Swedes (just to be against Germany I assumed) but with a last minute goal by T. Kroos, I went happily to bed at 9pm.
The next day, I woke up at 4:30am. It was light and people started chatting outside- my alarm was set for 5. Calculating back and forth about my running performance, I wanted to leave at 6am with the official start and not taking usage of the possibility of a flying start (anytime up until 7am). My bus from Winchester to get back to the airport was booked and so was my flight from Heathrow at 4:25pm.

Breakfast (oatmeal in numerous versions, sweats, bacon, sausages, beans, sunny side ups, …) was as lovely as dinner. I changed into my running gear, applied sun scream and mosquito repellent, dropped my bag and 6am: off we went again.
The 30 miles of day two were parted into 4 sections by 3 pit stops before the runners reached to finish line next to Winchester Cathedral. The temperatures in the morning were perfect for running and my legs felt stronger than I thought.

Most of the (more experienced?!) runners were wearing a back pack with water/ camel bags. I only had a belt and was carrying a plastic bottle for sports drinks to refill at the pit stops. I often don’t drink in between my training runs and knew I can go 10km without a massive water supply.
After leaving pit stop 6 (about 33 km into day two) I was following a long straight field track. The organisers put lots of arrows along the route to make sure that one doesn’t miss a turn. First, I was running along but I didn’t see any arrows no more. I slowly got anxious about not seeing any arrows and when I finally reached a junction and there were no arrows, I knew I must have missed a turn. So I had to run back and saw the turn very sharply after the pit stop… about 3km added for nothing.
I reached pit stop 7 and refuelled- the water melon was divine. From there, it was less than 12 km to the finish line! First I had to conquer one more hill on a rocky field track. After that, a mild steady decline followed and I could see the rooftops of Winchester and the top of the cathedral.
I started to feel a little outburst of energy and my pace got quicker (5:15-5:30/min). I started smiling and could not wait to get to the finish.

“King Artur” was awaiting the finishers. Since the name of the race was “Race to the King”, I brought a little crown with me, picked it up from my checked luggage and went back to Artur for my finishers selfie.
Race to the King was perfectly organised and my one and only point of a possible improvement would be the finish area. Since it is near the cathedral and the park, I understand that space is limited. However, showers (in a gym of a school?) and some food would have been awesome. There was so much food at the pit stops when I couldn’t eat much or didn’t want to eat much. Drinking water was provided. I de-dusted with a bottle of water and my towel.

I enjoyed strolling along Winchester- a very picturesque little town with plenty of food and coffee options- before I made my way back home to Heathrow and than to Zurich.
Back home I looked at the race results and to my big surprise (and despite my 17 min detour on day two), I finished as third man in the two-day ranking of the race.
BTW: free race photos 🙂 no free Race Shirts but with all the food and that awesome overnight camp they still got my 5 star rating for swag

Stockholm Marathon 2018 was held for the 40th time and the organisers celebrated it with a new course.
The race expo is the Royal Tennis Halls next to the Olympic stadium where start and finish of the was.
The race starts Saturday at noon and the expo was on Thu, Fri and Saturday morning. I went there on Saturday since I only got in on Friday evening. I considered the expo as fairly small for a race of 20,000 runners (it was sold out this year), but I wasn’t looking to buy anything anyway. Next to the stadium, a big finisher area with showers, massage tents and bag drop off was organised. The weather forecast was unusual hot for 2018 with 28-30 degrees C and luckily the organisers paid tribute to that by adding extra water stops and showers al my the course. In regards to the official Stockholm marathon webpage runners from 102 nations were present, however: out of the 20,000 registered runners only 15,500 started. The race start was impressive with jets in formations above us, the singing of the Swedish national anthem and the “starting gun” were several guns shot by guys in historic Swedish army costumes. There were vitals but the beginning felt very narrow. There was a 90 degrees turn just 400m after the start where people started waking again. The course is stretched along 7 boroughs of Stockholm with a repeat section along the water, castle and opera house for the last 7km. As I said there were plenty of water stops and besides having run in the heat before I think I have never drunken as much on the course as in Stockholm. Besides water and energy drinks, several stops offered Pepsi and warm coffee. Besides bananas, apples and energy gels, there was also a stop with gherkins/ pickled cucumbers- very Swedish. Stockholm has several music areas with music boxes spread a couple of hundred meters which I appreciate cause one has a longer boost from
The music and not just for 10 seconds. The finish line is in Stockholm’s Olympic stadium from 1912 and after one gets the medal, we were led outside to the finishers area, where we got an anniversary water bottle, a bag with food and the finishers t-shirt. All set up very efficiently. Also, you could get free Hot Dogs, Erdinger alcohol free beer and kanelbulle (cinnamon buns) and coffee. A friend of mine got a massage and he said it was less then 2 minutes waiting.
When I compare the races of Stockholm and Copenhagen -without any doubt- I can recommend them both.
I think Stockholm is a bit more scenic but the crowds were more enthusiastic in Copenhagen and Copenhagen had warm showers 😉 If you want to shoot for a fast time/ a PR, Stockholm is probably slower since it has 530m of elevation (cumulative) vs 176m in Copenhagen (elevation figures referring to my runtastic tracking).

Copenhagen Marathon has a 39 year old history and the Danes have evolved the race over the years to a very high standard – a well deserves the IAMS gold label race.

Last year I ran the Copenhagen half marathon and fell in love with the city. Despite some funny weather (we started in the sun, a thunderstorm broke out with heavy lightening and pouring rain and hail- the race was discontinued shortly after I finished), I knew I wanted to come back.
Getting into CPH is very easy and trains run frequently from the airport into the city. The expo is not huge, but nice- some of the vendors didn’t take credit card though. Surprisingly a lot of the sports stores around the expo were closed on Saturdays! (I saw some awesome running shorts that I couldn’t find at the expo, but well…).
Sunday was race day. Bag drop off was in the fenced off start/finish area and it felt that there were plenty of toilets but still queues (good thing for guys: mobile urinals) I started following the 3:10h pacers. My plan was pushing the pace a bit until the half marathon distance and then see if I can continue or to slow down (I did run Prague marathon 7 days and St Gallen half marathon 3 days before). The sun came out (unusually warm for the Danes who in generally suffered more than I did) and so did the Danish cheering crowds. The course is a big kinda 8 shape route with repeating the loop of the first 10km at the end. Many cheering zones and plenty of highly appreciated water stops. I felt so light and energetic and though the last 7km felt a bit boring and I felt like I was done, I finished in 3:09 gun time, 3:07:27 chip time – scoring my second Boston Qualifying time of the year.
Beer, hot chocolate, cinnamon buns and much more in the finish area. I laid down and soaked up some sun before I showered (hot water to the very end!)

I will be back.
Ps: have I mentioned: free race photos!

This year in its 4th edition, the running festival in Ueberlingen on the North Shore of Lake Constance had a 5k, 10k and halfmarathon as well as Bambini runs on the second day.
The race started at the square close to where the ferries starts from and only 5min away from the train station. For the halfmarathon I had to run 4 rounds. I did struggle a bit with a constant change of the underground- asphalt, paved paths, roll split and cobble stone and also the 180° turns (two in each round) but all in all it was only little elevation and a flat course.
There was only one spot for drinks (water/ iso), no food or sponges but you would pass it twice on each round (so about every 2.5km). I read later that they ran out of iso in the end and also out of food for the late finishers (when I finished there were so many apples and bananas that it is hard to believe the runners ate them all). The registration was very inexpensive (20 Euros), but no medal and if you wanted a t-shirt you d have to purchase it on top for 15 Euros. There was a bag check and changing rooms and showers.
To me, for the size of the race (about 200 in the halfmarathon) it was a well-organised race and I enjoyed running along the lake shore and through the pitoresque city of Ueberlingen.

The half and full marathon are held the same day in Vienna and both races share the same route on the first 20km (about 12.5 miles) before the marathonis go for an altered second round. 2018 was unusually warm and more than 1000 runners used the option to drop from the full to the half distance.
The expo for more than 25, 000 runners all together is fairly big and all the big names or the sports gear industry are there. The bag drop off (small buses that transport the bags to the finish at the historic City Hall) was a bit chaotic/ too tight for me when I ran the half marathon two years ago. This year with way warmer temperatures I didnt bring extra clothes. Music bands and many spectators, a huge video screen and stage near the opera, cheer leaders- all that is Vienna. The medals (different sizes per race) are traditionally in the shape of stars. Snacks and free (alcohol-free) beer at the finish line.

Well, I already reviewed it twice.
The course hasnt changed, but will change next year! Start and finish will be moved to the area between Brandenburger Tor and Siegessäule (same area as for the full marathon) and the old airport of Tempelhof was used for the expo again. I already registered for 2019….

12k race of the running weekend.
From the Ruins of Ancient Elis to the City Square of Amaleida.
Road race.

see combined review (Day 2 / full marathon race)

Often, I go home from a race with that happy feeling of something like a” runner’s high” and being proud to have pushed mysef, knowing that many people worked hard for the race to be enjoyable. And I see that the Dutch organiser of Hardloop Event worked hard. Many things of the race were enjoyably but others were not and in the end I have mixed feelings about that experience.
The Spa-Francorchamps Run on the Formula One Track offers 4 distances- 7, 14, 21 and 42km. One round on the track is 7 km (approx 4.4 miles), so the half and full marathoners have to add a little extra distance to their three / six rounds. Entrance fees were relatively low. The full marathon was 35 Euro and included a medal and drinks/ bananas, cake on course as well as hot tea and broth for after the race. the When I signed up, there were different starting times listed to the different distances- so I made according travel plans. A week ahead of the race I was informed that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the starts would be postponed (in my case from 11am to 2 pm) which kinda messed up with all my travel arrangements. The Circuit is not really well connected to public transportation in the off season so I had to take a cab to get there. The bib hand out was an easy process, you could store clothes/ lugguage for one Euro per piece (I think that should be included).
The start at 2pm was delayed by about 10minutes. The day before the race it started to snow and we had a bout 10cm (4 inches) of snow- I dont know if that played a role in that delay or not. The different distances lined up: 7k first, than 14k, half marathoners and full marathoners- the spread covered 195m to make the full marathon distance from where the marathoners started to the starting line of the 7k people. There where about 45 marathoners and more runners in the other distances (about 650 in total). The track was not free of snow but the snow was melting so your shoes got soaked fastly. I had a lot of vaseline on my feet and didnt experience any shaving or blistering luckily. when I though of a formula one track – and I didnt know it better) I thought of a flat fast course but dang- that race had hills…. cumulative about 1100m of ups (and downs); equalling about 3600 feet. It was an experience running by the tribunes, the pit stop area, seeing the finish line from narrow bends and being brought further out again… Safety cars were constantely driving around making sure all runners were safe. There were two stops for drinks/ food and toilet. I struggled a bit with the hills and a bit of tiredness in my legs after PR-ing on the marathon distance just 6 days ago in Malta. I was happy with my time of 3:53h and rank 9 in the overall placement.

update: i downgraded the overall rating after haven gotten a unfriendly and snippish email from the organisers. After my race I sent a friendly emaily trying to give some suggestions for improvement and the reply to my proposals was that they said that they cannot control the weather (as if i was complaining about that…) Not running with HaardloopEvents again!

The course is mostly flat but has a downhill in the beginning through a tunnel and one runs the same tunnel back in the end (about 80-100m of total altitude change in the race). I called Napoli Half a trail, since the surface of the streets felt partially really like a trail race: cracks and holes and a lot of cobble stone and you had to watch your every step.
Despite that, the race was a great experience. Only in its 5th edition, the organisation was flawless, easy bib pick up in a little convention area, where also the start and finish area was set up; locker rooms available. Water / isotonics every 4-5km and inexpensive race photos (I got 20/ 16 Euro). Pacers started with 1:30h. Carb loading in Italy, seeing Pompeij and hiking Vesuvius added to great trip. Highly recommended with a little patience for the Italian life style (waiting for buses, trains, …)

Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon was exactely what I expected. A perfectly organised race with big screens, set up seating area to cheer the top athletes in the finish area but lacking a bit in cheerful, runners supporting atmosphere. Saying that, I have to add that the organisers tried hard to improve that and I m sure it will get better over the years as the race grows. A friend picked up my BIB saying that it was a plain pick-up no real exhibition/ vendors.
Race day: The top elites started one hour before “the crowd runners” started. The course is very flat and definitely good for best times if you are adjusted to the temperatures which are usually mild but somewhat hot if you come from a European/ North American winter. The start was close the Mall of the Emirates. Runners were facing the coast where the first 12k were a loop to the North and after we got back closer to the finish area two loops of about 14k in the southern direction followed. These “2nd and 3rd” loop were more crowded by running clubs and spectators since you had the chance to see everybody passing by twice. The course was along the Burj Al Arab, some Mosques and shops. Sufficient water supply along the course and mint conditions of the roads. In the end, I can not complain about anything in particular about the race- but I didnt have an emotional binding/ felt anything special about the race if I had not met some of my runners friends there that live in Dubai. And for them I would go back every year to run it again.

My choice of starting a New Year. Was my fourth time participating. Race and the organisation hasn’t changed since my review from last year.
Your chance to be listed up on high in the official IAMS list of the fastest (half) marathoners of the year since it is the first official measured course of the year.