(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The countdown is over. On Friday before most people can even open their eyes at the stroke of dawn, the world's richest marathon - The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon - will have got under way at Umm Suqeim Road near the iconic Burj Al Arab at 6.30am.
A capacity crowd is expected to brave the early morning chilly weather to run in the three races - the marathon (at 6.30am), 10km (at 9am) and 4km fun run (at 11am).
There were long queues at the Meydan Hotel by last-minute participants to register for the races, which augurs well for the organisers who are expecting at least 30,000 runners to participate on Friday.
Gracing the marathon and eyeing for the world record will be Kenenisa Bekele, the Ethiopian running legend and three-time Olympic gold medallist.
If he gets to the mark, which is 2h:02m:57s, Bekele will take home an additional $250,000 (Dh918,050), along with the winner's cheque of $200,000.
"The plan is to run a world record, but, of course, you cannot say 100 per cent I will achieve this record," said Bekele on the eve of the marathon.
The 5,000 and 10,000 metres world record holder is out to prove a point to his country after being ignored for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He almost got there in Berlin in September when he won the race but missed the world record by six seconds.
And with the course in Dubai quite similar to the one in Berlin there is all likelihood that the course and the world record could be under threat from the Ethiopian.
The course record in Dubai is 2:04:23 set by Ethiopian Ayele Abshero in 2012.
"Dubai is known as a fast course, so hopefully some good things will happen on Friday," said the soft-spoken Bekele.
This is his second appearance in Dubai after failing to complete the race in 2014 due to injury, but is determined to continue Ethiopia's domination of the race.
The Ethiopians have won 10 of the 17 men's races, including eight of the past nine, and the list of winners includes Haile Gebrselassie, who won three in succession between 2008 and 2010.
In the women's event, the Ethiopians have won 12 of 17, including all of the last 10.
Runners from the East African country are again expected to dominate, with Shure Demise the favourite.
It could be an early birthday present for the two-time Toronto Marathon champion Demise, who will be celebrating her 21st birthday on Saturday. Demise ran her personal best here in 2015 on her way to finishing fourth, while Melkamu was runner-up in 2014.
With a strong bunch of Ethiopians, which include Meselech Melkamu, Tadelech Bekele and Arage Yebrgual, the race for the $200,000 (Dh734,600) prize money will be intense.
Peter Connerton, the Event Director, said: "Our marathon course has never been exactly the same. It must be probably the most changed course among all marathons because the city keeps growing every day. Our marathon, which is the richest in prize money with a strong field, has also kept growing."
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