The iconic Dubai Marathon took place last weekend in one of the world’s most popular destinations in the Middle East.
As always, new stars emerged at this event with world-leading and personal best times, setting the bar even higher for the rest of the marathon season in 2026.
In his marathon debut, Ethiopia’s Nibret Melak clocked a world-leading time of 2:04:00 to win the men’s race. The women’s race was also won by Ethiopian runner Anchinalu Dessi in an equally impressive world leading time of 2:18:31.
The two races started together at 5:45 a.m., before the eyes of the runners could see beyond the area illuminated by artificial lights.
Dubai is known to be relatively warm, which is one of the reasons for the early start, as no one wants a marathon to turn into a slow barbecue by noon.
However, this year the weather was kind to the thousands of marathon runners who took part in the marathon’s 25th anniversary. While it was a bit difficult for fans to watch the race unfold in the first half, as runners were often silhouetted against the morning skyline, it was a familiar setting for elite runners who often complete their long runs in dawn-like conditions.
With 30km to go in the men’s race, just as the sun finally rose to witness the race, 26-year-old Melak began to break away from the rest of the elite field, never looking back as the chasing pack disintegrated behind him.
The 2024 African 10,000m champion continued to extend his lead, winning the race by almost two minutes ahead of his next rival. He was followed by Yasin Haji of the country in second place in 2:05:52, while John Hakizimana of Rwanda set a new national record of 2:06:48 in third.
“I prepared very well and it was always my goal to win in my debut. My big goal in the future is to break the world record,” Melak said after the race.
Unlike the men’s race, the women’s race remained unpredictable until the final stages. The trio of Moulie Dekebo, Anchinalu Dessi and Fantu Worku stayed close at the front until around 34K. As Worku began to lose ground soon after, making it a two-horse race in the remaining kilometers.
Dessie, 23, took the opportunity to rest around 41K when Dekebo appeared to get a little rowdy at the last drinking station. She went on to claim the women’s world leading time this year and improve her personal best by almost 4 minutes. Dekebo was awarded a personal best time of 2:18:43. Worku finished third in 2:19:08, also a new personal best.
