DUBAI — The 2008 Dubai Marathon will be the richest long distance running event in history after it was announced yesterday that should one of the winners of the men’s or women’s races break the world road race record then they would earn a million dollar bonus.
The first prize for both men and women for the Marathon on January 18, 2008 will be $250,000.
That doubles the current leading marathon prize of $125,000 for the Chicago Marathon. The Dubai prize money is tax-free.
The race was the idea of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who wants to make the 10-year-old marathon equal to the status of other multi-million dollar sports events in Dubai, such as the Dubai World Cup horse race, the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament, and the Dubai Tennis Open.