Dubai Marathon 2024

I have long heard of Dubai Marathon. Just never thought that one day I would actually be running in this event. These days, with a myriad of choices, this wouldn't exactly be your typical choice for a marathon. Well, that is unless you reside here. 

I suppose the real question is: Who would have thought I would end up in Dubai in the first place? The most unlikely of places. Yet, here I am; relocated with a job offer in a private hospital since October 2022. Had to give the 2023 edition a miss due to problematic knees but for 2024, with time and place perfectly aligned, I simply had no excuse to miss it again.  

So, I finally signed up for Dubai Marathon 2024 (7/1/24) in September 2023. The hefty registration fee kept me wavering for a while but heck, it is what it is! Thereafter, once signed on, there was just no looking back. Training began in October just as Dubai headed into winter. (And yes, there is a winter season in Dubai.) Morning temperature often dropped to the low teens: making it especially conducive for long runs. 

If you know me, you'd know that since 2018, the fundamental principle of my training had been based on the 80/20. But over the years, this has somewhat evolved into a more pragmatic version. To be honest, all these peculiar specificity of zone and LT training seem just a tad pedantic and pointless. Who am I kidding? Am I training for the Olympics? At 54, I am just glad to be able to run! So, how did this translate into day to day training? My approach is to do progressive runs: slow start, 70-80% in zone 2 (while gauging my effort ). Then, a final surge in tempo to MP/10K pace for the remaining 20-30%. Another thing I endeavor to achieve was a consistent high weekly mileage. For this season, the highest weekly I managed was 120km with the average between 80-100km. Weekend long runs were usually 30-32km, progressive increase to MP in the final portions.

One regret however, was the lack of speed work and strength training. I always knew the importance of incorporating these into the plan but actuating it was not as easy as it seemed. To be honest, it’s easier to just lace up and complete a target mileage than to spend 'extra time' on these workouts. Excuses, I know. Nevertheless, I may have to seriously re-evaluation this...

  

Over the years, Dubai has no doubt elevated its game and established itself in the global platform. Marathon events at this level is just one of the eventual outworking of such a success story. As for the running culture in Dubai, like the community it hosts - is pretty much an import, as with all things. Not surprising, come Race Day, the majority of runners that you will see are expatriates. The event set up reflected that 'international feel' too. They spare no expense! Grand stand, baggage checks, merchandise booths, LED Start/Finish arch etc. – the requisite for success! We all know that marathons these days - is basically a money churning enterprise. More so, in the context of Dubai, one can only expect the best.

While picking up my bib the day before, I curiously asked the organizer about corral allocation but was met with bewildered glances - only to realize on Race day that there was no corral allocation at all. Perhaps I was too used to international races, this one has a pretty small field of marathon participants, thus making corral allocation redundant and a waste of effort. A 'duh' moment! As a result, it was a rather 'laid-back/squeeze-in-anywhere-you-fancy' kind of start.  

In the social media, Dubai Marathon has attracted a large field of elite runners - my guess would obviously be the coveted Grand price of 80K USD for the Champion; 40K USD for 2nd; 20K USD for 3rd. It may not be as high as NYC Marathon, but for a relatively 'small' race like Dubai Marathon, the reward is très généreux! 

However, for commoners like me, the actual experience did not quite live up to the hype. For one, the elite start time - 6am, was an hour earlier than the rest of the field. For reasons only known to me later, this peculiar arrangement was in order to avoid any potential clash between the elite and the casual runners. As it turned out, the latter part of the course consisted of a repeat loop. This inadvertently means that for the rest of us who start at 7am, you will be facing the onslaught of the sun and heat from around 9am onwards. 

I would have thought this should be taken into consideration as one would be well acquainted with the sun/heat factor in a place like Dubai. Couldn't this be rectified by a course correction instead of using a repeat loop? And if course correction isn't feasible, wouldn’t it be more sensible to start earlier ~ like 5am?

Coming into the race, I felt a bit underwhelmed. Not sure if it was because of the stress of post calls the week before, or that I was just underprepared, the body felt weirdly tired. I have tapered for the past 2 weeks and did my usual carbo loading the previous few days, but it was just that "blah" feeling. The body did not feel at all 'in the game'. 

Expectations? Well, by default, the thought of sub3 did cross my mind. But realistically I knew I was really not in that kind of shape. Trial runs weeks before this were a tad disappointing. Yet, to come into this and not try would be a crime! I suppose there is this dichotomy between theory and practice. Marathoners are no doubt a bunch of calculated (yet reckless) risk takers - a desperately self-conflicting breed.  

So, at gun off, I went out as conservatively as any 'sensible' subpar sub3 marathoner would do: maintain an even pace of 4:13-4.14. There were no pacers for 3 hours (nor any other pace groups as far as I could recall), so it was just me and the open road. Overall, the first half was quite a pleasant run, with groups coming in and out of my pace. Anyone's pace and capability is anyone's guess. Never rely on it nor attempt to follow any group, no matter your inclination. For me, it was just a solo run. 

We all know that the first half or at least the first 2/3 of the race is but a poor predictor of how well any race would pan out. As they say: Feeling is deceiving. Of course the mind wants to believe it. But reality eventually sinks in. I distinctively remember the downward spiral beyond 28km. It's as though the battery suddenly just conked out. Beyond that, the suffering began. I think marathoners are very amnesiac when it comes to this part of the race. We may go through hell (and some, literal collapse) and then just after a few days later, sign up for another race. You may absolutely detest yourself at that point of torment but the funny thing is, at the end of the suffer fest, we only remember what we choose to remember. 

I don't think there is any need to elaborate how that 28th-42nd km stretch was for me. For a full 14 km, it would seem time stood still. They say it isn't so much an issue of lactate build up, but mental fatigue. I would concur. It was all so strange. Brain fogged. Will crushed. It was an awful feeling. When you realize that you have hit "the Wall", it is like finding out that the bus has left - and that, was the last bus of the day.

There was no heroic end to this story but a humiliating defeat as I clawed my way to the finish. Pace would only get slower and slower as I approached the finish. 5:24 was perhaps the slowest. At least I didn't walk. Not that I wasn't tempted to. Finished with a 3:09. And that was the end of it - so I thought.

I put off writing about this for simple reasons that it was forgettable. I was actually more angry at the fact that a few months of training only amounted to such a horrid outcome. But after giving a few months of distance between Dubai Marathon and my upcoming Vienna Marathon in less than a week's time, perhaps it would be wise to open up the wound and allow a bit of introspection. 

I suppose there is no one size fit all training. What worked for me in 2019 is no guarantee that the same would apply at my current form and age. I am a good 4 years post my peak. Perhaps I have to concede that 2:51 would go down as my personal all time best. And put a full stop to it. And perhaps a sub3 too would be a thing of the past. At 54, I would think that getting over the idea of reliving the past glory is the real challenge. One would hope he stays in that glory place indefinitely. But we all know that on this side of eternity, its only wishful thinking. 

Perhaps I will rediscover something new in the upcoming Vienna Marathon. I seriously do not know what to expect. I have done the necessary training to the best of my time and ability. The rest is a matter of how well this could be executed. I will see soon.