Why the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is a must-do event

The ‘RAK Half’ in February is a bucket list race for road runners in search of a personal best in a picturesque setting

If you’re looking for a fast, flat half-marathon this winter in a warm and attractive location, you should look no further than the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.

The 18th edition of the ‘RAK Half’ takes place on February 1 next year with four different race distances available on Al Marjan Island in the United Arab Emirates.

You have the choice of tackling 2km, 5km, 10km or the blue riband 21km, or half-marathon, event.

Why the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is a must-do event

The course has seen several world records over the years. In 2007 Sammy Wanjiru ran a men’s world record of 58:53 in the RAK Half. Since then there have also been three women’s world records with Mary Keitany clocking 65:50 in 2011, Peres Jepchirchir running 64:52 in 2017 and Abal Yeshaneh with 64:31 in 2020.

About Ras Al Khaimah

More recently, in 2022, Jacob Kiplimo and Girmawit Gebrzihair ran course records of 57:56 and 64:14 respectively, while Eilish McColgan clocked a British record of 66:26.

Why the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is a must-do event

Girmawit Gebrzihair

Before and after the race, the area is ideal for relaxing and enjoying yourself. Within easy reach of the many beach front hotels are the highest mountains in the UAE at Jebel Jais. The viewing deck park here provides spectacular views across the mountains at a height of 1250m. With smooth roads up the mountains, it’s a popular destination for cyclists to tackle some great mountain climbs Ras Al Khaimah.

Why the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is a must-do event

Jebel Jais

At the top of the mountain, those with a real taste for adventure can take on the longest zipline in the world. At over 2.8km in length ‘flyers’ can reach speeds of up-to 160kph.

When you are in the area it’s also easy to combine a visit to the Suwaidi Pearl Farm. From the coast a short boat trip can take you to the farm where cultured pearls are farmed, a truly unique experience Ras Al Khaimah.

History Of Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah, constituent emirate of the Assembled Bedouin Emirates (previously Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). It comprises of two sporadically molded lots on the Musandam Landmass, arranged north-south. The northern segment imparts the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl landmass to the sultanate of Oman and has a shoreline of roughly 35 miles (56 km) on the Persian Bay. A southern inland plot is isolated from the northern by a projection of Fujairah emirate. Political fracture in the locale is outrageous to such an extent that Ras Al Khaimah’s two sections have borders with 10 political units; eight have a place with five of the six different emirates in the league, and the other two are with Oman and its exclave on the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl. Ras Al Khaimah’s assessed absolute region is 660 square miles (1,700 square km). The capital and most huge metropolitan settlement is Ras Al Khaimah city.

Ras Al Khaimah was not one of the first Trucial States however was essential for Sharjah emirate for the greater part of its set of experiences. Both were governed by the Qasimi administration, which originally laid down a good foundation for itself at Ras Al Khaimah town by the mid eighteenth 100 years. The town sat on or close to the site of Julfar, an old port which was recently administered by the Omani Yaʿrubid tradition. The district was an area of conflict between both neighborhood interests and those of European royal powers. Because of Qasimi strikes on English ships, the English sent off a mission against the Qawasim (plural of Qasimi), flattening Ras Al Khaimah town in 1809 and again blockading the town in 1819 after it had been modified. In 1820 the English made Sulṭān ibn Ṣaqr, as the Qasimi sheik, sign the Overall Settlement of Harmony. Along with the other Inlet rulers, he likewise consented to the later Trucial arrangements. In 1869 Ras Al Khaimah turned into a different state under Humayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh, a grandson of Sulṭān, however upon his passing (1900) it returned to Sharjah, and it was not at long last perceived by England as a different Trucial state until 1921.

As England arranged to leave the Persian Bay in late 1971, Ras Al Khaimah, similar to Bahrain and Qatar, picked not to join the Unified Bedouin Emirates. A question emerged that very year over the little islands of More prominent and Lesser Ṭunb (Ṭunb al-Kubrā and Ṭunb al-Ṣughrā), in the bay around 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah town; these islands had for quite some time been guaranteed by the two Ras al-Khaimah and Iran. On November 30, 1971, Iranian soldiers arrived on More noteworthy Ṭunb and met equipped obstruction from Ras Al Khaimah police. Iran, in any case, stayed possessing the islands. The occurrence was a huge calculate persuading the emirate’s chiefs that Ras Al Khaimah would profit from solidarity, and it joined the Unified Middle Easterner Emirates in 1972.

Ras Al Khaimah emirate is among the important makers of the nation’s harvests. Truck crops (cabbages, onions, tomatoes), dates, tobacco, and natural products, particularly bananas and citrus natural products, are developed along the coast around Ras Al Khaimah city for neighborhood utilization and for commodity to different conditions of the league, principally Dubai. Somewhere else along the coast, work open doors disappeared with the downfall of the pearling business, and much eradication happened. The Shiḥūh nation of the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl sell overflows of dates and raise goats. Oil investigation both inland and seaward has delivered no outcomes. The emirate has gotten help from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as from its sister states Abu Dhabi and Dubai. From 1964 to 1972 quite a bit of Ras Al Khaimah’s income came from dedicatory stamps, printed available to be purchased to philatelists. Enterprises in Ras Al Khaimah incorporate the development of ceramics, drugs, concrete, lime, and an assortment of development materials.

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