All-Time Marathon Lists Rewritten After 2019 Dubai Marathon

By Adam Kopet

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has become a destination to run a fast marathon in January. It has also become a place for new faces in the event to emerge. This year furthered that legacy.

Ethiopia's Getaneh Molla pulled away from compatriot Herpassa Negasa in the final stages of the race to win in his debut marathon. His time of 2:03:34 was not only a Dubai Marathon course record, but the fastest debut marathon ever run.

The women's winner, Ruth Chepngetich, came into Dubai with a little more experience than Molla. The Kenyan had run three previous marathons, winning twice in Istanbul and finishing second in Paris. Chepngetich made a big jump last November in Istanbul, improving by four minutes with a time of 2:18:35. Less than 11 weeks later, she became the third-fastest woman ever with a time of 2:17:08.

RESULTS

The Dubai Marathon stands out as an anomaly each year. In past years, the event has had the largest prize purse of any marathon. That changed this year, with prize money being cut by more than half, however, it did little to change the fast nature of the race.

Starting before the sun had risen, the men's and women's elite races started off at a fast tempo. It did not take long for the men to settle into a low 2:03 pace. The women were also fast, running on sub-2:17 pace through 15 kilometers.

The Dubai Marathon is often a race of attrition. If the fast pace does not cause problems, the heat of the rising sun can. This year, however, the athletes benefited from cooler than average weather, according to Paula Radcliffe, one of the webcast announcers for the event.

At the halfway point, 14 men remained in the lead pack, running 1:01:43. One by one, athletes began to drop off the pace. Three men remained with five kilometers to go. Negasa looked the strongest of the three, but it was the inexperience of Molla that eventually prevailed, as he pulled away in the final kilometer to win by six seconds.

The women's race began to fracture much earlier from the hot pace. By 15 kilometers, the lead pack was down to four. By halfway, it was down to three. Worknesh Degefa tried to give Ethiopia the Dubai sweep. She hung with Chepngetich through 35 kilometers, but the Kenyan was able to power away for the win. Degefa still managed to run 2:17:41, which ranks her fourth on the all-time list.