Ammon News - By Roufan Nahhas

AMMAN - Around 6,000 local, regional and international runners will take part in the 17th LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon, which will kick off on Friday.

This year’s event, organised by the Society for Care of Neurological Patients (SCNP), will witness a record number of participants, according to organisers.

Mona Kopti, marketing and PR manager for the event, told The Jordan Times that the number of participants is increasing significantly as last year around 4,000 runners took part.

"We have many runners from the African countries who are known for their passion for marathons and this will give the event a competitive flavour," she added.

Last year, the marathon was given an international recognition and became part of the International Association of Athletics Federations agenda.

Kopti said the marathon is a main fundraising event for SCNP in an attempt to help cover the costs of necessary surgeries and assist in increasing awareness about neurological diseases.

"At the end it is all about helping other people through sports and through an event that includes all family members," she said.

Last year, Ethiopia’s Habte Dibaba Robele was crowned champion of the men’s Ultra Marathon (48.7km) after clocking 3 hours, 5 minutes, followed by Iraq’s Nouri Jaber and Jordan’s Salameh Al Aqra.

In the women’s race, South African Suzette Vermaak won the Ultra Marathon run, while American Meena Camp won the Marathon.

LG CEO in the Middle East K. W. Kim said: “The sponsorship of this Dead Sea Ultra Marathon and the support we render to many others reflect our interest in the sustainability of the local community."

Meanwhile, Rasem Nashashibi, LG PR manager Levant office, said: "We are proud to once again be part of the event which gained international recognition and helped to spread awareness about the neurological patients."

“We are expecting a lot of fans to up and cheer the runners so we have prepared free buses to take the crowd from Amman to the Dead Sea and more than 300 volunteers to assist in making the event a success,” the event’s media director Maha Rawashdeh said.

The roads to the Dead Sea will be closed in the morning. The Ultra Marathon, held under the patronage of HRH Prince Raad, the Chief Chamberlain, and HRH Prince Firas Ben Raad, consists of five runs: the Ultra Marathon (50km), the Marathon (42km), the Half Marathon (21km), the 10km and the Kids Marathon (4.2km).
(Jordan Times)