Dubai: Paula Radcliffe, the legendary women’s marathon runner and holder of the women’s marathon world record, lauded the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon as “two very exciting races”.
She said that there was “a very fast pace early on from the men”, then added: “Maybe they paid a little bit of a price for that (pace). Really it was an exciting finish. The way (Tesfaye) Abera ran for a huge personal best to record the victory was fantastic.”
Abera emerged as the men’s winner, shattering his previous personal best by more than five minutes. Radcliffe said that the marathon in Dubai was a launchpad for the events for the rest of the year. “I think the springboard of the marathons for 2016 has started in a strong way, as often the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon does,” she said.
When asked about the Ethiopian dominance, the legend said: “I think it has been built up to this point now because a lot of the Ethiopian runners know the reputation of the Dubai Marathon race in terms of the quality of the field, the depth in the field, the speed of the course and organisation. They know it is a place they can come to record a fast time and put themselves in contention for a place in the Olympic team.”
Radcliffe, who was a commentator during the race, said she loved the atmosphere.
“It was a very good atmosphere, the fast times indicated the race organisers’ decision to move the race forward a little bit. The runners started in the dark but had perfect conditions for running,” she added.
As for whether the event could be made even better, the British runner insisted: “To make it better is very tough because already the standard is very high. Rather than try and improve on it you must just let it grow from its own reputation to the standard of the runners wanting to come here and race.”
