$388,000 worth prize money at Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon

There are prize money worth $388,000 to be won at the second Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon to be held on December 6 following the UAE's 48th National Day celebrations.

The winners for elite men's and women's race will each take home $100,000. The overall prize money is one of the world's biggest and set to attract best runners to Abu Dhabi, officials said.

Abu Dhabi Sports Council is organising the Capital's biggest community sports event. The inaugural edition had 30 elite athletes in the fray and saw more than 10,300 people register for the event representing 121 nationalities.

"Registrations for the event have started," Aref Hamad Al Awani, general secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said. "The number of participants is expected to rise this year. We hope to attract 15,000 runners. This shows the success of the inaugural event. The marathon has grown into a world-class event."

Even as the registration fees remain same as last year, there's a 30-per cent discount for those who sign up before May 31. There is also special package on offer for corporate entries.

Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, executive office director of ADNOC, revealed an all-new venue for the event village. ADNOC's campus next to its headquarters will host various fun activities.

"Our energy is the key to the UAE's prosperity. Wherever there is energy, you will find us, and that is why we are so proud to be the title sponsor. With this commitment in mind, many of you will have noticed that, during the past 12 months, the ADNOC corporate campus has been undergoing extensive renovations to create a best-in-class working environment for our employees, and an unrivalled guest experience for our visitors. From this year on, the ADNOC marathon fan village or ADNOC Energy Zone will be hosted within the grounds of our new campus, providing an enhanced experience for our athletes, their families, and the entire UAE community," Al Suwaidi said.

Apart from 42.2km elite race, there is family-friendly 2.5-km fun race, 5-km for starters and 10km for those looking to challenge themselves. There is also wheel chair run. Every participant will receive a free race shirt and medal.

Officials said following on the success of the inaugural edition, all entities are committed to support runners be it amateurs or professionals to prepare for the marathon. This will inspire future generation of runners. Free training sessions to prepare for the marathon have started and will continue till November 27. The training sessions are hosted by marathon's official coach Youssef Rochdi.

Sessions will be held at Al Hudayriat Island and Zayed Sports City. Training sessions at Al Hudayriat Island will be held for an hour every Monday from 9.30 pm throughout Ramadan. After the Eid holiday, training sessions will be scheduled from 6.15 am and a second weekly training session will be hosted on Wednesdays - starting from June 5 at Zayed Sports City from 7.45 pm.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com