Thursday 18 / April / 2024
Muscat: Omani runners Sami Al Saidi (overall winner) and Ahmed Al Salti (Half-Marathon winner) hogged the limelight at the fifth edition of Muscat Marathon organised by Muscat Road Runners (MRR) on Friday.
The event was organised as part of Muscat Festival 2016.
Declaring the event a grand success, Muscat Road Runners chairman Ahmed Al Malki said that this race was bigger in size with a participation of more than 600 athletes.
There were competitions in three categories — 10.3km run, Half Marathon and Marathon.
This year's event was flagged off at Hotel InterContinental with the participants in the full Marathon starting at 6am. The Half Marathon was flagged off at 7am, while the 10km run began at 8am.
Like Muscat Festival and its accompanying events, Muscat Marathon was aimed at showcasing the beauty of the capital city.
The route of the race was designed in such a way that the participants had to pass through some of the most picturesque locations of Muscat.
After the flag off at InterContinental, the participants passed through Qurum Corniche, Royal Opera House, the Ministries area and the Grand Hyatt before finishing at InterContinental.
In the marathon event, Oman's Sami Al Saidi ran with élan to finish the distance in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds.
He was declared the overall winner and also the winner of the men's event.
Luke Peel took one minute four seconds more than Sami Al Saidi to finish second and in third place was Paul Faulkner who covered the distance in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 21 seconds.
In the women's section, Asta Parker took top honours in full marathon in a time of 3:16:06. Charlotte Plouvier came second in 3:54:51 while Helen Graham finished third in 3:56:01.
The Half Marathon saw Oman's Ahmed Al Salti winning with ease in 1:21:04 and behind him in the second spot was Nick Conlan (1:21:10). Oman's Yousuf Al Zabi (1:21:31) came third.
The women's category of the Half Marathon was won by Ruth Woodfine (1:36:09) of Great Britain, while Germany's Birgit Schulz (1:37:00) came second and Kenya's Irene Ng'Eno (1:43:08) claimed the third spot.
Paul Drury (00:40:40) of Great Britain was the 10.3km competition winner, while Kavin Maharaj (00:41:13) and Jose Luis Linde (00:42:05) took the next two spots in the men's section.
The women's 10.3km title was pocketed by Joanna Williams (00:46:35) of Great Britain followed by Karol Corrales (00:51:01) and Hayley Loomies (00:52:10).
Speaking to Times Sport after the event, MRR chairman Ahmed Al Malki praised the organisational aspects and said the event drew great response and every aspect of the run went on smoothly.
"The conditions were ideal for a successful run and I thank all the participants to make Muscat Marathon a grand success," he added.
"In the marathon, there were 108 entries, while 193 runners took part in the Half Marathon and 297 participated in the 10.3km run," said Al Malki, who also thanked Royal Oman Police for their support.
Results:
Full Marathon:
Women's Top 10:
1. Asta Parker (Iceland) 3:16:06
2. Charlotte Plouvier (Great Britain) 3:54:51
3. Helen Graham (Great Britain) 3:56:01
4. Dana Richter (Germany) 4:06:49
5. Tracy Day (Great Britain) 4:06:58
6. Amanda Gordon (USA) 4:13:12
7. Fuensanta Turpin (Spain) 4:17:25
8. Joanna Charters (Great Britain) 4:23:17
9. Marian Morris (USA) 4:32:22
10. Jane Hodgson (Canada) 4:37:59
Men's Top 10:
1. Sami Al Saidi (Oman) 2:50:20
2. Luke Peel (Australia) 2:51:23
3. Paul Faulkner (Great Britain) 2:52:21
4. Joern Rohland (Germany) 2:59:21
5. Olle Ax (Sweden) 3:15:28
6. Gary Cummings (South Africa) 3:16:35
7. Laurent Berthouloux (France) 3:17:37
8. Nasser Alriyami (Oman) 3:30:00
9. Andreas Zimmerschied (Germany) 3:30:24
10. Christian Jobst (German) 3:33:23
Half Marathon:
Women's Top 10:
1. Ruth Woodfine (Great Britain) 1:36:09
2. Birgit Schulz (Germany) 1:37:00
3. Irene Ng’eno (Kenya) 1:43:08
4. Wendy Ulrich (USA) 1:44:11
5. Sally Hart (Great Britain) 1:47:52
6. Marcela Orsagova (Czech Republic) 1:48:16
7. Olivia Clark (New Zealand) 1:48:16
8. Amy O’Donnell (Great Britain) 1:50:11
9. Rachael Leibel (Canada) 1:50:46
10. Lorraine Siva (Great Britain) 1:54:28
Men's Top 10:
1. Ahmed Al Salti (Oman) 1:21:04
2. Nick Conlan (Ireland) 1:21:10
3. Yousif Alzabi (Oman) 1:21:31
4. Rashid Almuqbali (Oman) 1:24:04
5. Suleiman Al Alawi (Oman) 1:30:53
6. Nino Garcia (France) 1:30:56
7. Karl Street (Great Britain) 1:31:39
8. Mohammed Albimani (Oman) 1:33:28
9. Brenton Clark (Australia) 1:33:40
10. Aaron Heather (New Zealand) 1:35:53
10.3k:
Women's Top 10:
1. Joanna Williams (Great Britain) 00:46:35
2. Karol Corrales (Venezuela) 00:51:01
3. Hayley Loomes (Great Britain) 00:52:10
4. Monica Burke (Canada) 00:53:00
5. Ruth Wilford (USA) 00:53:08
6. Lauren Rasmussen (Great Britain) 00:54:29
7. Emma Grossback (USA) 00:54:30
8. Marion James (Great Britain) 00:55:02
9. Jill Salway (Great Britain) 00:55:08
10. Ann Margaret Pamela Mocke (Russia) 00:55:09
Men's Top 10:
1. Paul Drury (Great Britain) 00:40:40
2. Kavin Maharaj (Australia) 00:41:13
3. Jose Luis Linde (Spain) 00:42:05
4. Stephen Griffiths (Great Britain) 00:43:43
5. Yousuf Mohammed Abdullah Al Gheilani (Oman) 00:44:34
6. Johannes Josephus VIS (New Zealand) 00:44:36
7. Younes Hajji (Morocco) 00:45:17
8. Michele Sganga (Italy) 00:45:20
9. Ian Burch (Great Britain) 00:45:57
10. Rory Kolster (Great Britain) 00:46:07
Junior 10k: Women's Top 10:
1. Emma Grossback (USA) 00:54:30
2. Delilah Pery (Great Britain) 00:59:13
3. Syrine Khlif (Tunisia) 01:02:09
4. Amelie Le Dantec (France) 1:02:33
5. Alice Le Dantec (France) 01:05:25
6. Marya Tabbara (Lebanon) 1:06:30
7. Oceane Slim (Lebanon) 01:06:30
8. Prune Routier Berthier (France) 01:07:19
9. Kathryn Palmer (USA) 01:08:29
10. Lucy Salt (Great Britain) 01:08:58
Men's Top 10 (Only 8 started this event):
1. Kavin Maharaj (Australia) 00:41:13
2. Rory Kolster (Great Britain) 00:46:07
3. Maheem Baig (France) 1:02:09
4. Zaid Munaf Karimi (India) 01:03:35
5. Edward Ridd (Great Britain) 1:06:25
6. Joshua Lee (Canada) 1:37:23
7. Ted Membre (France) 1:56:47
8. Yassine Khlif (Tunisia) 1:56:47
