The third-fastest man ever for the half-marathon distance, Kenyan Patrick Makau, has agreed to run the 2008 Ras Al Khaimah International Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates next February 8, organizers announced today.
Makau, 22, has a personal best time for 21.097 km of 58:56 set in Berlin in 2007 (see attached photo), and has run 59:19 or better for the distance four times. He earned the silver medal at the IAAF World Road Running Championships last October in Udine, Italy, finishing just three seconds out of first place.
Ian Ladbrooke, who acts as the elite athlete coordinator for the event and is also Makau's coach, promised that Makau would have stiff opposition at next February's event. "We're looking to sign up a substantial number of the guys who have broken 60 minutes this year," Ladbrooke said in a prepared statement. In 2007 14 athletes broke the one-hour mark.
The "RAK Half," as it is colloquially known, boasts the largest prize money purse of any half-marathon, with USD 200,000 on offer, including $25,000 for both the male and female winners. The complete prize money schedule is here: RAKMarathon.com.
Interestingly, four of the five fastest half-marathon times ever achieved were run in 2007, including the IAAF world record of 58:33 by Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya set in The Hague on March 17.
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