Dubai: Alia Saeed Mohammad and Bethlem Desalegn are among the favourites, but the two UAE runners are not counting themselves with too much of a chance going into Friday’s Fifth Dubai Holding Women’s Run.
With the testing work on the tram services, the start and finish points of the race have been altered from its original venue outside the Dubai Police Academy with a 7am start next to the Jumeirah Creek Park along the Jumeirah Beach Road.
In last year’s edition, Elena Korobkina of Ukraine won the 5km race, while Zsofia Erdelyi of Hungary took the top honours in the 10km.
However, Desalegn, a winner in the 5km race in 2012, is not too confident of winning this year as both the UAE runners have been on their off-season break in native Ethiopia after a gruelling season that concluded with last month’s 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
“It has been a tough season for both of us, and we are now resting with our families back home till our training schedule in Europe starts again after the Christmas break. Other than just keeping in shape we have not been have not been training as such. But it is a matter of pride for us to participate in our own race and show our solidarity in empowering women,” Desalegn told media at the formal announcement of the annual event on Wednesday.
Alia won the UAE’s first track and field gold medal at an Asian Games when she powered her way to the top spot in the women’s 10,000 metres in Incheon last month. Much was expected of Desalegn but the UAE athlete failed to finish among the medals in her two events. “It all came down to negligible technical mistakes that I committed in both races, but that is now behind me as I look forward to getting ready for the next season,” Desalegn said.
Last year, a little over 5,000 runners from 52 countries participated, and this year the numbers have increased marginally to approximately 5,400 runners from over 100 nationalities.
Joining the UAE pair of athletes this year will be an international field including Bertine Laine from Haiti, Esma Aydemir from Turkey, Eliza Chemwetich Lopilale from Kenya, Biljana Cvijanovic and Sonja Stolic from Serbia and Ernestina Maria de Conceicao Pailino and Adelaide Ester Macha from Angola.
The first place winners in both races will receive Dh10,000 each while the second place runners will get Dh7,000 and Dh5,000 for the third placed winners. In addition, there is a separate prize fund for UAE runners in both races with the top place getting Dh5,000.
“The aim of this run is to inspire and empower women while also achieving them to be active, fit and involved in the movement of society,” the Race Director noted.
