MUSCAT: Over 100 international athletes will participate in the ninth edition of Oman Desert Marathon from January 20 to 23, according to the organisers.
International runners from Japan, Georgia, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Morocco will be joined by a good number of Omani runners in the adventurous desert marathon at the golden sands of Bidiyah.
Launched in 2013, the Oman Desert Marathon is a self-sufficient 165 km race with four stages, including a night stage, across the spectacular Omani landscape and its varieties, from the Oasis Al Wasil, crossing the desert to Al Jawharat Resort.
The race is divided into four stages: 42 km on day one, 52 km on day two, 47 km on day three (night stage) and 22 km on the fourth and final day.
Like in the eighth edition, the Oman Desert Marathon will continue to be recognised by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) so that the athletes will get international ranking points for their participation.
The race ensures the participant a unique opportunity to get acquaintance with the desert of the Sultanate of Oman, providing the opportunity for the runners to enjoy high and flat areas, including the night stage, during which the athletes will enjoy the magic of the desert illuminated by the stars.
Besides the classic 165 km race which attracts runners from all around the world, there are local races of shorter distances, such as 42 KM, 21 km, 10 km, 5 km and 2 km on the same day.
INSPIRING RUNNER
This year the race will have the particularity of an inspiring runner, a Spanish paralympic athlete born with hemiparesis, a cerebral paralysis that affected the development of the right side of his body. Pol Makuri will run the Omani Desert carrying all the food, sleeping bag and daily gear together with his team member, Albert Jorquera, a Spanish Journalist who specialises in Trail and Ultratrail. They will
embark on it as a team, a unique journey to discover the most remote, untouched sands of the Omani Desert.
Pol and Albert like all the other runners will do in total 165 km in 4 days (one marathon per day) in very extreme conditions, only being provided water and shelter by the organisation.
Oman Desert Marathon for the first time will have 14 participants from Special Olympic Oman. A hearing-impaired athlete will run the 42 km and 13 kids with intellectual disabilities will run 2 km with their parents or teachers.
The race is being sponsored by a host of entities including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Bidiyah Resort, OTSO Sport, A’saffa Chicken, Mwasalat, Lulu Hypermarket and Oman Airports.
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