{"id":2602,"date":"2015-01-22T09:39:02","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2015-01-22T09:39:02","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T15:39:02","slug":"bekele-mergia-chase-dubai-marathon-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/news\/bekele-mergia-chase-dubai-marathon-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Bekele, Mergia chase Dubai Marathon records"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Aselefech<\/a><\/p>\n

The weather forecasters have been kept busy in recent days as Dubai has been beset by evening thunderstorms at the start of this week, but a different kind of storm awaits the city in the Gulf on Friday morning: distance running fans around the world will have their focus firmly on the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and its strongest field ever. <\/p>\n

Both course records are targets in the race which has become firmly established among the world\u2019s leading running events. Ethiopia\u2019s superstar Kenenisa Bekele headlines the men\u2019s list which features 20 athletes with personal bests of sub 2:10. Half a dozen of them have run faster than 2:06. The women\u2019s field shows unprecedented depth in a city marathon regarding the number of athletes who have broken 2:28. A grand total of 23 have personal bests that are faster. Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia is the fastest on the start list with a PB of 2:19:31 and that, for good measure, is the women\u2019s course record. Including shorter distance races, a total of 25,000 runners have entered the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.<\/p>\n

In recent editions the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon made headlines when marathon debutants took victories in sensational style. This has happened on three consecutive occasions in the men\u2019s race and the winners clocked world-class times of sub 2:05 each time. However, given the depth of the field, it would be truly sensational if Dubai\u2019s debutants\u2019 winning streak were to continue on Friday.<\/p>\n

You could be forgiven for thinking this is an Ethiopian national championship since the field is stacked with an abundance of their talent. Yet the runner centre-stage in the build-up is the 5,000 and 10,000 m world record holder Kenenisa Bekele. \u201cI feel confident, I am happy and I know that I am better prepared than before,\u201d said the 32 year-old, who won his marathon debut in Paris last April with 2:05:04 and then took fourth in Chicago in 2:05:51.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very important race for me. I want to improve my time. I am confident to make history here, but you can never say you will win \u2013 you can\u2019t be sure, because otherwise it would not be a race,\u201d said Kenenisa Bekele, whose rivals include Lelisa Desisa. The Ethiopian was one of those winning debutants here, running 2:04:45 two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy training has gone well,\u201d said Bekele and his manager Jos Hermens confirms that \u201cHe is better prepared than before for his third marathon\u201d. Bekele had trained just seven weeks before he competed in Chicago and missed his goal of improving his PB. \u201cWhen he was running on the track he could train for two months and then break a world record. But this approach does not work in the marathon. After Chicago Kenenisa knew that he had to change something. For ten years he had the same training rhythm. He needed something new and different impulses. This is why I brought him together with Renato Canova. And it is going well,\u201d said Hermens, explaining the switch to the Italian coach. The manager hopes for a better performance from Bekele than in Chicago. \u201cIf he runs a low 2:04, improving by around one minute that would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course record of Ethiopia\u2019s Ayele Abshero, who ran 2:04:23 in 2012, is the main goal. But Haile Gebrselassie\u2019s national record of 2:03:59 could also become an objective on Friday. The great Ethiopian will be in Dubai to watch the race he has won three times in a row from 2008. \u201cI have not spoken to Haile about Dubai, but I saw his races when he was competing here. Every race is different,\u201d said Bekele.<\/p>\n

Bekele is ready to follow any pace on Friday. And it could become even faster than expected. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to talk too much about the world record, but it is always a possibility. The half marathon split time we will target will be in that region,\u201d said Peter Connerton, the Event Director of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. \u201cI believe that one day we will break the world record here, but I don\u2019t know when it will happen. We have the fastest and flattest course in the world \u2013 and we get the best runners. This time we have Kenenisa.\u201d On Dubai\u2019s superflat course there is just one corner, two turns and four bends to navigate for the runners.<\/p>\n

The course record is also the goal for the women\u2019s race and the current record holder looks ready to attack it. \u201cIf all goes well I can run under 2:20 and break the course record. I am as strong as before maternity leave,\u201d said Aselefech Mergia, who gave birth to her daughter Sena in July 2013. A year before she ran the Dubai course record of 2:19:31 which remains her personal best. It took the 30 year-old quite some time to regain her form after giving birth. \u201cIt was difficult to get back in shape,\u201d explained Mergia, who weighed 73 kilos by the end of her pregnancy. \u201cIt was tough to get rid of the kilos, but now I am back at 51,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo run the Frankfurt Marathon in October was an option, but my shape was not good enough. I really only wanted to come back once I was fully fit again. Now I\u2019ve been able to train well for four months, so I am ready. My goal is to win the race,\u201d said Mergia, who would earn prize money of $200,000 if she succeeds, the biggest payday in marathon running.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am confident, but of course I know that it will be tough. Everyone who is coming to Dubai is competitive,\u201d said Mergia, who will face the defending champion, fellow-Ethiopian Mulu Seboka, and Lucy Kabuu. The Kenyan was second in 2012, crossing the line just three seconds behind Mergia in 2:19:34. Four more runners have personal bests of sub 2:22.<\/p>\n

Top Contenders, Men:
\nLelisa Desisa ETH 2:04:45
\nBerhanu Shiferaw ETH 2:04:48
\nFeyisa Lilesa ETH 2:04:52
\nKenenisa Bekele ETH 2:05:04
\nBazu Worku ETH 2:05:25
\nGirmay Birhanu ETH 2:05:49
\nChele Dechase ETH 2:06:33
\nLimenih Getachew ETH 2:06:49
\nTebalu Zawude ETH 2:07:10
\nBelay Asefa ETH 2:07:10
\nDeribe Robi ETH 2:07:16
\nAmanuel Mesel ERI 2:08:17
\nHabtamu Assefa ETH 2:08:28
\nAdugna Takele ETH 2:08:37
\nSisay Lemma ETH 2:09:02
\nGhirmay Ghebreslassie ETH 2:09:08
\nEzikiel Chebii KEN 2:09:15
\nAsmare Workneh ETH 2:09:20
\nVitaly Shafar UKR 2:09:37
\nAfewerk Mesfin ETH 2:09:47
\nAndualem Belay ETH Debut
\nMule Wasihum ETH Debut
\nAbde Fufa ETH Debut<\/p>\n

Women:
\nAselefech Mergia ETH 2:19:31
\nLucy Kabuu KEN 2:19:34
\nMeselech Melkamu ETH 2:21:01
\nAliaksandra Duliba BLR 2:21:29
\nAskale Tafa ETH 2:21:31
\nMamitu Daska ETH 2:21:59
\nAtsede Baysa ETH 2:22:02
\nAberu Kebede ETH 2:22:21
\nTadelech Bekele ETH 2:23:02
\nMulu Seboka ETH 2:23:12
\nFirehiwot Dado ETH 2:23:15
\nIsabellah Andersson SWE 2:23:41
\nAbebech Afework ETH 2:23:59
\nHaydar Sultan TUR 2:25:07
\nAzalech Masresha ETH 2:25:34
\nAshete Bekere ETH 2:26:00
\nAberu Mekuria ETH 2:26:07
\nMestawet Tufa ETH 2:26:20
\nBetelhem Moges ETH 2:26:42
\nRebecca Chesire KEN 2:27:16
\nMeseret Kitata ETH 2:27:26
\nFantu Eticha ETH 2:27:31
\nBeata Nandjala NAM 2:27:54
\nGladys Cherono KEN Debut
\nShure Demissie ETH Debut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The weather forecasters have been kept busy in recent days as Dubai has been beset by evening thunderstorms at the start of this week, but a different kind of storm awaits the city in the Gulf on Friday morning: distance running fans around the world will have their focus firmly on the Standard Chartered Dubai […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73,18,1,46],"tags":[95,316],"class_list":["post-2602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dubai","category-featured","category-news","category-pre-event","tag-95","tag-dubai-marathon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/marathon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}