On Friday, December 7, both Martin and I ran the Dubai Creek Striders Half-Marathon, one of the most picturesque races in Dubai. Starting at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, the race takes runners over Garhoud Bridge, Maktoum Bridge and Shindagha Tunnel, with segments that run through the historic Deira creek port and bastakiya markets.
The day started well enough, though Martin was recovering from a nasty chest cold, and I was still in recovery mode after the New York Marathon on November 4. While we both looked forward to a good race, neither of us was looking to break any records. Despite looking worse for wear, Martin surged forward from the start, completing his first 10K in 55 minutes, including a 5-minute toilet break along the way (YTT note: I never saw any bathrooms along the route, so I hope Martin understands why I didn’t want to shake his hand after the race).
In the end, Martin managed a storming time of 1:56:15, all the more amazing given the fact that this was his first running of the race. I started strong and felt very good, but I managed to pull a calf muscle before I had even crossed the first bridge. I kept stretching and running over and over again, but my leg kept cramping. In the end, a little homemade remedy did the trick. I took off my bandana and used it as a brace across my calf, which managed to take the pain away, and let me finish the race. I finished in 2:02:01, which is slower than my time last year of 2:00:30 and still just short of my goal to break two hours in this race.
Martin and I will be running a number of other races this winter, including Wadi Bih, the RAK Half Marathon, the Dubai 10K and a few other surprises, so keep checking back for our race reports.
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