JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
No media. No Europeans/Americans in the mix. No social media push.
$$ is great and brings fast times but it’s your normies that make a marathon popular. The Ethiopians are dominate but have you seen Gobena’s Instagram? Zero posts. Dumecha? No account. Ketema? Maybe an account but they look fake.
This may seem dumb (I agree to some extent) but who was the title sponsor of the marathon? Adidas, which is great but no other organization outside of China or Dubai. Organizations like Standard Chartered Bank found the juice ain’t worth the squeeze.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and RAK Half are just vanity projects by the Emiratis to make it look like their petro monarchies are on par with the great capitals of Europe and the US. Very few locals actually run the race. Most of the runners are expats who are working in the Middle East. And none of the locals come out to watch the race because women running in bikini bottoms and tank tops is haram.
Also, Dubai has some sort of back door deal with the Ethiopian agents to basically make the race a professional development exercise for Ethiopian marathoners to figure out who is ready to move up to the European and US major races.
JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
Maybe all the spam about escort services offering dusky Dubai damsels around here is causing moral decline.
WC as in World Champinships? No, I like the marathon world championship with the athletics championship in general (track and field), just like the olympics.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and RAK Half are just vanity projects by the Emiratis to make it look like their petro monarchies are on par with the great capitals of Europe and the US. Very few locals actually run the race. Most of the runners are expats who are working in the Middle East. And none of the locals come out to watch the race because women running in bikini bottoms and tank tops is haram.
Also, Dubai has some sort of back door deal with the Ethiopian agents to basically make the race a professional development exercise for Ethiopian marathoners to figure out who is ready to move up to the European and US major races.
I have no idea if this was just a translation/interviewer thing, but after the race the interviewer/mens winner seemed to hint that the men’s race was for a guaranteed selection spot for Tokyo World Champs. Not actually a terrible idea as the top guys are unlikely to do it and appearance fees/name values for these Ethiopian athletes can go up if they pair a good spring race and a high placing at Worlds.
JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
London Marathon gives insultingly low prize money to it's podium finishers yet holds such high esteem as a MM. If Marathon Majors are meant to be the pinnacle of Marathon racing the prize pot should reflect that. Pompous organisers. Do not understand the appeal.
JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
London Marathon gives insultingly low prize money to it's podium finishers yet holds such high esteem as a MM. If Marathon Majors are meant to be the pinnacle of Marathon racing the prize pot should reflect that. Pompous organisers. Do not understand the appeal.
I agree. You should get 4 million buckaroos for winning the Londonium Maraton.
JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
London Marathon gives insultingly low prize money to it's podium finishers yet holds such high esteem as a MM. If Marathon Majors are meant to be the pinnacle of Marathon racing the prize pot should reflect that. Pompous organisers. Do not understand the appeal.
I assume you haven't factored in the time bonuses in your comments. These are high and pretty much a pre requisite for a top placing. Also London clearly shells out hugely on start money to the biggest names. The elite Africans don't come to London because of a Big Ben or errrm Former HQ of the Empire curiosity. It's cos it pays.
JG writes about the decline of the Dubai Marathon and rightly points out the effect of less prize money. Likely/probable that Valencia, held the month before is cannibalizing from Dubai. Classy race, fast course and usually good weather. Also why not designate existing well-organized marathons (not the WMMs) as the WC? Start with Valencia then move it around on a rotating basis.
Where's the love for yours truly? I wrote the piece: