When & Where
| Date: | Friday, 09.12.2011 |
| Start Time: | 06:30 am |
| City: | Dubai |
| Country: | UAE  |
| Location: | Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club |
Average ratings
“The pacers were great. I would highly recommend this half marathon. It was a great event. I will definitely run again next year. ”
“I like this run as there is always something/ someone out on the course. If you want to visit Dubai to see it as well as run this is the event to enter. ”
“Thank you DCS! your awesome!”
“The race pack was great and keeps improving every year.... Big applaud to the organizers.”
“i.e. you can simply let people cross from Bur Dubai to Diera through the floating bridge. Also supporters were good but should do better job. This is the best event in the region but in European standarad it should have more enhancements”
“After booking online about 6 weeks ago, I took the opportunity to enter a far off race in The United Arab Emirates As I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law for a pre Xmas getogether in Dubai, I thought, well, why not. My wife and I flew into Abu Dhabi Airport Wednesday evening and were taxied back to Dubai by our invitees. They both live and work in Dubai. After a late supper and some well earned shut eye, Thursday was already upon us, being pre race day. My daughter Kelly, had already picked up my race number and goodie bag the previous day. My entry fee was 150 dirham and when converted amounted to about £30. I thought this was a bargain as the Goodie Bag turned out to be a posh small rucksack stacked full of surprises. Not only did it contain my race number and chip, it also contained a small sweat towel, shoe bag, money pouch, membership to a health club for the day, couple of gels, 3 isotonic drinks, drinks bottle, wicked running vest with the appropriate logo, bottle of mouth wash, pot of Vaseline, 4 packets of biscuits and a packet of spaghetti. The only thing missing was a cuddly toy! 5am Friday morning and it’s off to the other side of town into a large park adjoining a creek. This was the start and the finish. Most of the 1200 competitors had already arrived it seemed, as I approached the athletes village, as it was heaving with bodies all colours and shapes. It was a chipped run from start to finish so, no need to rush off the start line. They sent the runners off in batches anyway. With the temperature reaching about 16 degrees, I plumped for the one hour fifty group. We are off and the sun is trying its best to show its face. After about 15 minutes we approach our first bridge. Running over it, we have a wonderful view of the currant bun peeping above the skyline adjacent the “Burj Khalifa” (the tallest building in the world) much to the delight of all the runners. The course had been designed in a figure of eight, so we had to negotiate the large river at least 3 times. At the top of the course, was an underpass below the river which transpired to be just half a kilometre before the halfway mark. This took us past the dock area which had its usual group of workers and shipments ready to be loaded and transported. Our next couple of K sent us through a Souk where there were quite a few sellers setting up stalls for the onslaught. They all seemed to be enjoying the early morning running sceptical. Still on the dockside, the marshals kept our spirits up by the usual gestures and shouting. Now feeling very tired approaching 19 K and thinking I might scrape under the 2 hour mark. I reach the 20K flag and the watch showing one hour 51 so will I creep under the 2 hour? I’ll put you out of your misery and tell you that I did make it under the 2 hours but only by the skin of my teeth. Not surprisingly, the winner happened to be of Ethiopian origin and sailed in at a very comfortably 1 hour 15 mins 48 with a Saudi guy in at 1 16 25 then 4 brits followed in all under 1hr 20min A great experience to be had and a well organised event to boot. A big thanks to Dubai Creek Striders It’s about 25c, now off to the beach Tony Sheridan (Windle Valley Runners) Windlesham Surrey England ”
“I did hear about this well organised and fantasic route and it lived up to all those expectations. Brilliant, Brilliant and what a goody bag!!! Will be back next year!!! So well done to the everyone that made it happen.”
“It is a pity there was not more atmosphere in the form of public but the volunteers did a great job to encourage the runners. It was my first half marathon and little touches like calling out your name over the microphone as you finished were what made it so personal and special.”
“Thanks DCS for another well organised Half Marathon. Everything was just wonderful and well organised. I'm proud to be a member of the running club!”
“Love to join again in all events”
“I really enjoyed and the breakfast was great. Nonetheless, I used my premier timing chip and I don't find my timing on the list. It is not reflected on my account either. Please direct me to the right person to speack about it. Thanks. ”
“The course is extremely scenic and enjoyable to run. Start/finish location great. Support, stands and food excellent. This years medal was well designed, however the "10" made it look like a 10km run rather than a half marathon. I still like like it though. For the giveaways, bag was great, my only comment was too there were many biscuits for me.”
“1st 4km very congested. Unable to run freely - stagger the starts more efficiently. Refreshment tables not up to the standard of all the other race facilities due to : 1) difficult to get water container open - tables could leave the containers with the cover off or at least the cover tag sticking up 2) non-water drinks not readily available or noticeable 3) sponging facilities not visible 4) helpers not focusiing on giving out the water ie missed runners hands”
“I was really impressed with organisation, event, participation - the whole experience was great thank you!”
“Great event - definetely will sign up again for next year - there is a need for more physios after race & perhaps the treatments should be reduced in time - the queues were very long especially when you can barely stand Apart from that superb event & well organised.”
“This was my first time entering the run, but I loved it. Everything from start to finish was well organised, thank you very much. I'll run again next year.”
“A map of the exact packet pick-up location would have been helpful. I had a hard time finding the place.”
“job well done dcs!”
“The only difficulties were 1) not knowing the way in to the Golf Club at the end. Left? Right? Round a marker? Straight through the flower bed? Kinda stressful. 2) drinks with lids firmly stuck on were also stressful. water in an open cup is better. Or give a choice. Everything else was great ”
“thank you DCS! your awesome!”
“Loved the organisation, the Striders were brilliant!! The race pack was great, love the T-shirt although a few too many packets of wafers for my liking (but my other half was very grateful!) The only thing I would say is that there were too many gradients. This makes it tough to go for a PB and also leads to bunching. Perhaps setting off in more 'waves' might help. I found it difficult to find my results through the Striders website. Also, I was disappointed not to be able to access my split times. Do I have to have a ChampionChip for this? This is not explained well. Also, the water stations could be much improved by having small bottles of water. I found it very difficult to drink from the airline-style cups, not to mention opening them when on the go. As a result, I did not drink nearly enough on the run. I appreciate there may be a cost implication, but I would gladly pay a few dirhams more on the entry fee to make sure I got bottles I could easily carry for a mile or so, thereby ensuring that I drink the whole contents rather than spilling most of it over me.”
“Course was challenging, nice view, plenty of water stations and a great selection of free goodies. Breafkast at the end was great to replace lost calories and unwind. Some km markers difficult to spot. ”
“It's hard to say what you could do better for the next event. It was very well organised, enjoyable and the supporting volunteers all did a great job so a big thanks to them. I felt that I could have done with a drink a little more often than there were stations but thats not a surprise, one or two more watering stations would not be a bad idea though. The event is a real credit to Dubai Striders, well done and looking forward to next years event. ”
“Great race. Thanks committee & volunteers for all your hard work.”
“Event was super. Only disappointment was that the results shown on the website and the ranked positions were based on the gross not the net time.”
“It was my first, therefore I am sure that it will be remembered forever. And the memories will be very pleasant. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you for this brilliant experience. Hope to be there next year.”
“A group of 5 of us travelled from Kuwait (4 to run/1 to spectate) to compete in the race. We had a wonderful day. The atmosphere pre and post race was excellent. The breakfast and relaxed atmosphere were a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed running the course and running under the creek was a surprise, I really enjoyed running through the souk too. Will definitely make this a regular weekend trip from Kuwait. Thank you to everyone involved in organization and the generous sponsors.”
“The event was well organzied. The encouragement from everyone along the way was great and really kept me going strong. The course was interesting and fun to run with nice views of the creek. It was really nice to have all the free facilities like the massages, breakfast, and goody bag.”
“Overall an excellent event, if I really had to provide any constructive remarks, the collection of the race pack was inconvenient for me as only available between 5-8pm, I had to drive from Knowledge village to Creek Yacht club on a thurs night and back (took me 2.5hrs!) I would have happily paid for a courier service... having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the day, the pacemakers were a fantastic idea, helped to push me to a PB time, the facilities before and after were excellent.”
“Everything about the Johnson Arabia Dubai Creek Half marathon was fantastic-thank you so much to everyone who made it such a great event.The course was superb, the volunteers fabulous and the goodie bag and breakfast were fabulous! A big pat on the back to you all-I have recommended it to my friends. THANK YOU.”
“This is the best organized event I have attended in Dubai and given the numbers involved that is quite a feat. The weather, course, support and the city all combined to make my first half marathon truly memorable. I would happily recommend it to anyone who will listen. Thank you and very well done.”
“The starting point was not clearly communicated anywhere. I found out by coincidence that the starting point is infront of QDs. For a first time runner, alot of details regarding the half marathon were not clear.”
“Great event but more Marshalls needed at the start to tell people where to go what to do. Plenty of water and refreshments, great give aways and great value..! See you next year.”
“Really enjoyed the race, was challenging in everyway. Stunning scenery and very well organised. Well Done. Look forward to competing again. ”
“Great course, race, giveaways and general organisation.”
“The only tricky part was parking in time before the start of the race. Long line of cars. ”
“Excellent organisation, wonderful route, always perfect weather, great breakfast.”
“Event was organised very well and for me this was my first half marathon run. Only change if possible i would suggest is the terrain of the course.Not sure if the terrain needs to have so many climbs and down :)..the underpass between Deira and Bur Dubai is tough and takes more nergy.maybe a more flat track would be better”
“This race has grown so much because it is a spectacular event that not only passes many interesting sites but gets us started off with a beautiful sunrise! What more could we ask for! The support people & stations were in the perfect spots for me. Many thanks to the organizers & volunteers! Well done! Alice :)”
“Fantastic event! Thanks for everyone's efforts to make this a memorable race! Only comment is the design of the woman's shirt is unfortunate. The shoulders stick out because of the way the stripes were sewed on, so it looks odd. ”
“This race has just about everything: the best course in the UAE (probably world-class, but I wouldn't know), great organisation, the most luxurious changing facilities I've seen, medals and prizes worth keeping, good breakfast buffet and a fantastic atmosphere. There's not much you can do about spectator support in the UAE, but the marshals did their best to make up for it.”
“OK ”
“Why all the biscuits in the race pack?”
“A huge 'thank you' to the sponsors, organizers and helpers who worked so hard to make this year's event another great success.”
“Fab event from start to finish - thanks to the committee and the marshalls : ) ”
“More hydration points between the tunnel & Maktoum bridge would be nice. The Floating Bridge was opened before the end of the race resulting in me missing out on my predicted time of 2h 30 min because of having to wait for traffic - bitterly disappointed! Being near the end of the race meant limited selection left at breakfast.”
“A fantastic day - thanks to all for the obvious hard work it took to arrange such an event.”
“Needed more water stations between the tunnel & Maktoum bridge”
“Overall, really well organized. The breakfast was a bit of a disappointment. Not very healthy or tasty I would say. ”
“Water station at top of Shandagah Tunnel.”
“more water stations and serve water in a cup... other than that great event and great course ”
“Thank you for the race organizers and all the volunteers and sponsors for putting together such a great event. ”
“Breakfast was chaotic but what you would expect for numbers involved. The organiser of the event itself did a wonderful job! I ran in Glasgow and the ambience was amazing as there were bands and people along the way more so than at this event, which help with motivation. Maybe Dubai Pipe Band could give us a whirl next year.”
“The enternance to the event area was very congested to come in and finding parking difficult, the track a bit congested in few locations. Overall I enjoyed the run and realized why it is been named as "Creek Striders", I hope to be better prepred next time and practice running in odd areas not just parks and roads. Thank you for your great effort in organzing this event and wish best for the future events.”
“Thank you to all the people involved - it is really well organised.”
“1st Half Marathon, really enjoyed the experience and looking forward to next one. Great organisation and course. Superb goodie bag, breakfast and venue. Only very minor point was at drink station - given can of drink - difficult to drink while running, bottle would have been better. Will be entering 2012 event.”