Runners on their marks for Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2005

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Minister of Defence and Crown Prince of Dubai, the 42.195 km marathon will see the runners set off from under the shadows of the Emirates Towers and the Dubai World Trade Centre at 7am, while competitors in the hugely-popular 10km Road Race and 3km Fun Run will come under the starter's gun at 7.30am and 11.30am respectively.

"Everything is in place for what will be the biggest and richest long marathon staged in Dubai," said event director Peter Connerton.

"The elite athletes from around the world have been arriving in Dubai over the past few days, while the support of the authorities such as Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police and the traffic authorities will ensure that we have a truly memorable event on one of the best routes in distance running."

Although thousands of competitors - from professional athletes to weekend fun runners - have already signed up for the three categories, the organisers expect many more to sign up before the doors finally close on registration.

"We will always allow runners the opportunity to compete right up until the last minute and will still be taking entries at the Dubai World Trade Centre Hall One up until 4pm on Thursday (January 6)," added Connerton.

Among the big guns competing in the men's marathon is Kenya's Willy Cheruiyot, who clocked a winning time of 2:09:20 in Holland last October while storming to his fourth Eindhoven Marathon victory in five years, while the much talked-about Christopher Kipkoech - Cheruiyot's stable-mate from the famed Dr Rosa camp of athletes - will be making his Dubai debut.

In the ladies' competition, star athletes Krystina Kuta of Poland, Romania's Anna Lupan and Ethiopian athlete Diribe Hunde will have their eyes on victory, a share of a record prize-money fund of $110,000 and the possibility of breaking the three-year-old track record of 2h:33m.

Away from the big guns of world athletics, there will also be competition in the 10km and 3km events. As well as prizes for the top three male and female finishers in the 10km Road Race, there will also be prizes for the first three UAE male and female nationals competing as well as awards for the top three male and female wheelchair competitors.

And as an added incentive for the 10km runners, a brand new Toyota Echo - courtesy of Toyota, the event's official car brand - will be the prize in a grand draw open to all 10km competitors.

In addition to title sponsors Standard Chartered, other sponsors of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2005 are JW Marriott, adidas, Dubai Radio Network (DRN), Deira City Centre, Toyota, Khaleej Times, Aquafina, Isostar, DWTC, Dutco and Khansaheb.