Dubai: The number of participants set for Friday’s Dubai Holding Women’s Run has exceeded last year’s figure.
Race Director Liesa Euton said he was pleased with the manner in which the event = scheduled for a 7am start from Jumeirah Beach Park — has grown in just five years.
Last year the event attracted 5,034 runners from 52 countries, while this year’s entry list has already crossed the 5,400 mark as of Thursday morning.
The UAE pair of Alia Saeed Mohammad and Betlhem Desalegn are among the favourites for the international race, along with world-class invitees such as Bertine Laine (Haiti), Esma Aydemir (Turkey), Eliza Chemwetich Lopilale (Kenya), the Serbian duo of Biljana Cvijanovic and Sonja Stolic, and the Angolan pair of Ernestina Maria de Conceicao Pailino and Adelaide Ester Macha.
“We are all set to go for yet another edition of this race. We are currently in the process of finalising the prize money and marking the routes, and with all in place, the 10km race will have a start at 7am sharp,” Euton told Gulf News.
The winners in both races will receive Dh10,000 each, while the runners-up will get Dh7,000 and third placed runners Dh5,000.
There is a separate prize fund for UAE runners in both races, with the winners getting Dh5,000 each.
The Dubai Holding Women’s Run aims to become a world-class event that can act as a platform for empowerment of women in the region.
The event is held under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee.
