The fourth Ooredoo Marathon will take place this Friday and thousands of runners of all levels of ability have registered to take part.
This year, the Ooredoo Marathon features a full marathon (42.195km), a half-marathon (21.0975km), 10km, 5km junior and adult races, as well as a child-friendly 3km and a 1km event. The first race will start from the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) at 6.30am, with full marathon runners taking a course that runs along the Corniche back again.
With a prize pot of QR1mn available, and prizes awarded to the best runners in a range of categories, based on age and gender, Ooredoo is expecting a positive response this year.
Yousuf Abdulla al-Kubaisi, chief operating officer of Ooredoo Qatar, said: “We have placed a lot of emphasis on engaging the community for the 2016 Ooredoo Marathon, offering a full range of races and offering the most interesting course and best range of facilities for runners. People of all levels of ability can take part in the Ooredoo Marathon, and we are encouraging friends, families and colleagues to come down and cheer the racers on.”
To ensure the safety of all runners and spectators, the Corniche road, will be closed from 6.30am to 11.30am to accommodate the races. Marathon spectators are requested to stand at the Corniche walkway at the MIA or at the many checkpoints lining the Corniche to get an unobstructed view.
The runners can park at the MIA port side entry from 5am to 7.30am and the visitors can park in Souq Waqif underground parking. Participants must collect their race pack inside the MIA parking lot on Friday between 5am and 6am.
The event, which is organised and sponsored by Ooredoo, is part of the company’s ongoing campaign to encourage more people to get involved in sports and inspire Qatar’s future sporting champions. All arrangements are being made to ensure the Ooredoo Marathon is as safe as possible. Ooredoo will help provide runners with water and any necessary minor first aid during the race.