Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon (aka RAK Half)
Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, 2K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon has continued to grow its stature as the number one Half Marathon in the Middle East. Ras Al Khaimah is blessed with some of the fastest, flattest and most modern road surfaces in the world – ideal for distance running. The start & finish … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Feb 14):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°C) | 31 | 31 | 26 | 31 | 23 |
| L (°C) | 14 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
The worlds fastest
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 … MORE
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!!!
5 shoes due to overwhelming production!
RAK Half Marathon is considered to be the world´s fastest half marathon. The top elite runners run this race every year. It´s absolutely flat - my runtastic said 0 meters … MORE
RAK Half Marathon is considered to be the world´s fastest half marathon. The top elite runners run this race every year. It´s absolutely flat – my runtastic said 0 meters up and 0 meters down which makes this course the perfect course to run a personal best. Weather conditions in Ras Al Khaimah which is about 1 hour drive from Dubai airport were perfect. Sunny blue skies and moderate temperatures – cool in the morning. The production is really one of the best I have ever experienced and if you stay at Hilton Double Tree Marjan Island you just have to step out of your hotel room and you´re at the start and finish line. The medal is the biggest and heaviest medal I´ve ever seen and it´s absolutely high quality! The course is not very scenic, but every 2,5km water is offered. After the race runners get free downloads of the photos that were taken. All in all it was a fantastic experience to run RAK Half Marathon!