Gadissa Birhanu and Berehanu Tsegu lead a strong men’s field, while Fantu Worku and Anchinalu Desi Genene lead the women.
This weekend, Dubai is set to host the 25th edition of its flagship race on February 1 (Sunday). With its famously flat and fast course, the World Athletics Gold Label event attracts elite runners chasing new times.
The marathon starts near Madinat Jumeirah, taking athletes along the Al Sufuh and Jumeirah Beach Road, with wide, straight roads and minimal turns. Along the route, runners pass landmarks including the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Palm Jumeirah and Downtown Dubai, finishing in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa.
The men’s field is headed by Ethiopian Gadisa Birhanu. The 33-year-old arrives in Dubai on the back of a solid 2025 performance that included a runner-up time of 2:07:25 in the Lisbon Marathon and eighth place in Prague.
Birhanu’s career highlight was the 2023 Seville Marathon, where he ran his fastest marathon of 2:04:59. He also won the Taipei Marathon, finished second in Copenhagen and finished in the top six in the 2024 Changsha Marathon in seven months.
Another Ethiopian, Berehanu Tsegu, returns after finishing second in last year’s Dubai Marathon in 2:05:14, just 23 seconds behind compatriot Bute Gemechu. Tsegu has not competed over the distance since that impressive debut.
The 26-year-old has a strong track record, including 10,000m gold at the African Games in 2019, but was handed a four-year ban after testing positive in the Copenhagen half marathon that same year. He returned at the 2024 World Championships in Belgrade, where he finished 19th.
Kenyan Eric Kiprono Kiptanui (2:05:47) is another athlete to watch. Former Dubai runner-up Kiptanui missed out on the 2020 title by just two seconds and has since amassed a string of European road race wins, including the Lisbon Half Marathon, Berlin Half Marathon (where he set a course record of 58:42) and Barcelona Half Marathon. His first major World Marathon medal came in 2021 with a third-place finish in Chicago.
Abera Kuma of Ethiopia will try to challenge these athletes with his experience. A former African junior track champion, Kuma’s marathon best is 2:05:50 since finishing second at Rotterdam 2018. He also won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2015 and most recently finished fifth in Bangkok last November.
Other notable contenders include Ethiopia’s Deribe Robi, a veteran marathon specialist who won Riga 2022, Xuzhou 2023 and Venice 2025, and Aichu Banti, a perennial performer with a personal best of 2:06:23 from Dubai in 2020.
Fantu Worku of Ethiopia leads the women’s field. The 26-year-old transitioned from a glittering track career in 2022 to a world under-20 silver in the 1500m and medley relay gold at the 2019 World Championships in 2022.
Two other rising Ethiopian talents will also be running, Anchinalu Desi Genene, who won in Seville in 2025 (2:22:17) and Beijing in 2025, and 23-year-old Tigst Getnet, who ran the marathon in 2:23:17 in Dubai in 2025.
Getnett is training alongside London 2012 marathon medalist Sofia Assefa, who returned to the marathon last year after an international track career that began 20 years ago. Assefa’s best performance in the marathon remains 2:23:33 at Amsterdam 2023, and in 2025 he had two second-place finishes in Copenhagen and Istanbul.
Abebech Afework rounds out the top female applicants. He set his personal best in Dubai back in 2015 (2:23:33) and continued his strong run to win the 2025 Lisbon Marathon.
The Dubai Marathon offers more than just an elite race. Along with the full marathon, runners can also tackle the half marathon, 10km road race and 4km fun run.
After last year’s podiums – once again dominated by Ethiopia – Bute Gemechu (2:04:51) and Bedatu Hirpa (2:18:27) – the 25th edition promises another fast and furious race.
The race starts at 5:45am (GST) for the elite athletes, with the general marathon field starting 45 minutes later at 6:30am (GST).
The marathon will be broadcast via Dubai Marathon YouTube p.
