Oman Desert Marathon 2019 - Documentary

Press Release / 18.02.2020

Unlike other well-known competitions across the deserts, the Oman Desert Marathon is entirely on sand and athletes do not cross any rocky or mountain section: 100% of sandy desert and all the ascent of the race is developed going up and down the big dunes of the Omani Desert.

This year's race has been certified by ITRA as a qualifying race for UTMB with 4 points. Oman Desert Marathon was divided into 6 stages for a total of 165 km and 3850 meters of positive ascent.

At the end of the first stage of Oman Desert Marathon, Rachid Almurabity had claimed the first position with Mohammed Almurabity right behind him and Evgeni Glyva in third. The first woman to arrive was Aziza Raji, who finished at 2:31.

The second day of Oman Desert Marathon started with briefing early in the morning, where runners were informed of what to expect in the course, and they were reminded to follow the flags along the course. With a nice breeze being present during the morning and afternoon, Rachid Almurabity from Morocco was the leader of the race for the second time, followed by his brother Mohammed Almurabity, while Evgeni Glyva from Ukraine, arrived at the finish line four minutes later. In women's category, the first to arrive was Aziza Raji from Morocco with a time of 3:29, followed by Fabiana Pizzali and Emmanuelle Romazi from Italy and France, respectively.

As part of the Sultanate's celebrations of the National Day, a picture with the 49th-people formation was taken and runners started the third stage on an unusually cloudy day. Three big sand dunes were ahead of them but the runners took advantage of the cool weather and moved fast in the first half. Rachid Almurabity once again claimed the top spot, with his brother, Mohammed Almurabity second-placed and Evgeni Glyva from Ukraine clinching third.

The fourth stage began very differently from the third, as it was a sunny and very humid day. The sand was almost wet and very easy to approach as it had been more compact, which made it easier for runners to move forward with no extra effort. Therefore, at the end of the race, no changes in the classification had been made, with all top athletes finishing in the exact same order.

Before the start of the fifth stage, the general feeling at the runner's camp was positive, runners were happy, resting and chatting. When conditions are good, everything is fine. The referees were also resting as a long night awaited them. The podiatrists were taking good care of all athletes with blisters problems, and they expected to see at least 25 of them before that stage 5 started.

At the 7th kilometer of the race, runner Chiara Zenari had to be assisted by the volunteers at the checkpoint. An ambulance arrived quickly to the location and she was given a pain killer as she could not walk because of severe pain in her oblique tendons. Unfortunately, many athletes such as Chiara Zenari, Davide Vitali and Imad Barakat had to be pulled out of the race during that stage because of injuries. The first arrivals at the finish line after 42.3 kilometers of sand running were Mohammed Almurabity from Morocco, followed by his brother Rachid Almurabity and Evgeni Glyva from Ukraine, in third.
 
Stage 6 was a celebration of a massive goal achieved and many participants got energy after almost a week of gruelling effort by dancing with joy to the rhythm of traditional Omani music that filled the air. At the beautiful beach next to the Arabian Sea, the medals were waiting for the participants. The first to arrive and receive the gold was Rachid Almurabity. Second place was claimed from his brother, Mohammed Almurabity and the third one to arrive was Evan Glyva from Ukraine. First woman to arrive was Aziza Raji from Morocco, followed by Fabiana Pizzali from Switzerland and in third place, Emmanuelle Romanzi from France.

All runners arrived safely and happy to have achieved Oman Desert Marathon. After a traditional lunch with camel meat, they all were transported to the base camp where they started resting and recovering.