The prize money is crazy and deep at that race. $50k for the win. $15k for 5th. Compare Houston 1/2: $20k for the win, $2k for 5th. So, the top runners are going to put it all out there as the prize money is big.
But, I am suspicious of the distance races in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai marathon regularly gets men to drop 5 min PRs. RAK has posted crazy fast times for the field since it first started. Qatar's bid for WCs is under investigation for bribery.
There is a desperate push in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain to be seen around the world as modern international metropolises on par with Paris, NY, Berlin, etc. They pump huge dollars into getting sporting events (tennis, golf, formula 1, soccer, etc.). I would not be surprised if there was some conspiracy to bribe doping officials into letting athletes juice up a bit before the big events so they would raise the profile of these events with super fast times.
Just look at what happened to top runners from Dubai: Abshero is pretty much one and done, Birhanu Lemi and Tsegaye Mekonnen run 2:04s in Dubai, but nowhere else. Fishy stuff.