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Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2015

We’ve been associated with the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for many years but in 2015 I headed to the UAE to cover the event. So as my Cameraman/Editor Joe and I set off for Heathrow he had some reservations – would the omelette Chef be as good as last year?!!

The first couple of days of the trip were dominated by capturing picture postcard shots of Dubai (with the necessary selfie in front of the Burj!) and recording interviews at the official press conference. Once again the event attracted some of the world’s top athletes perhaps most notably Ethiopian superstar Kenenisa Bekele. This was only his 3rd marathon and there was huge expectation in terms of his performance.

So onto the day of the event and it was a 4am wake up call to get to the media centre in preparation for the 7am start. As soon as we arrived amidst the early morning gloom, there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation as the tens of thousands of runners started to warm up ready for the off.

And what a race it proved to be. There were too many ‘moments’ to recall but witnessing a thrilling conclusion to the women’s race with Aselefech Mergia claim the eventual win – her first full distance race since giving birth 18 months ago, the Ethiopian fans going wild in the stands and a Mother pushing a buggy in the 10km with her child watching Pingu!

There’s no doubt that the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon really does embrace runners of all ages and abilities. This event has come a long way since 16 years ago but 2015 was again an event to remember. And Joe still had time to enjoy an omelette before we headed home to Blighty.