Dead Sea Ultra Marathon returns to Kingdom on April 13

AMMAN — The 24th LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon, one of the most popular running events in the Kingdom, will kick off on April 13th under the theme “Run at the Lowest Point on Earth”, with thousands of local and international runners expected to take part in the event.

Held under the patronage of HRH Prince Firas, chairman of the Board of Run Jordan, the event will witness several changes to the route, which will be a more challenging and family-oriented running event.

During a press conference held on Sunday, Prince Firas encouraged families to take part in this event and thanked LG Electronics for renewing its partnership with Run Jordan and committing to sponsor the marathon until 2021. The prince also highlighted the effort of the Greater Amman Municipality in assisting in the organisation of the event.

Managing Director of LG Electronics Levant Hong Ju Jeon said that “Run Jordan is one of the outstanding organisations that encourages the running sport, and we would like to thank HRH Prince Firas for his constant support, as we [have been] proud to partner with Run Jordan for the past 20 years. Stemming from CSR activities, this partnership with Run Jordan, we aim to create passion for sports and support physical activities, and we are looking forward to work closely with Run Jordan to create another successful LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon event.”

Meanwhile, Lina Kurd, general director of Run Jordan, tackled the route and changes to the event.

“Run Jordan, in cooperation with the concerned parties, made some changes to the race track that better suit the path, as we reduced the number of road curves the runners used to take and focused on running on straight roads instead to ensure the convenience of runners as they advance towards the finish line. Plus, we’ve took into considerations that the Dead Sea is a tourists area, so we want people to spend and enjoy their vacation there without worrying about road closures and the sheer number of participants.”

According to Kurd, the 50km Ultra Marathon will start at 6am opposite the Amman Tourism Beach. The route will go up towards the service road and the hotel area, and will turn left onto the Skydive access road. Runners will then make a U-turn in the Skydive area and return to the service road, where they will then take a left turn towards the Baptism Site intersection. 

Runners will take the road towards the Baptism Site and then take the right-hand fork along the secondary road leading to the King Hussein Bridge, going through the farm area. Participants will then make a U-turn then double back towards the baptism site intersection, going down to the service road. They will turn left to enter the Skydive area, make a U-turn towards the service road, and reach the finish line, which is also the starting point, at the Amman Tourism Beach.

“The 21km half marathon will also start at 6am and is located approximately 1km north of the security checkpoint on the main road. Runners will take the second entrance on the left into the service road, and at this point, they will turn left into the Skydive area. Runners will make a U-turn in the Skydive area and go back to the service road, where they will take a right turn to run back towards the finish line at the Amman Tourism Beach,” Kurd said.

“Meanwhile the 10km race will start at 9am, 2km south of the Baptism Site intersection. Runners will go downhill along main road to the hotel area and then onto the finish line at the Amman Tourism Beach,” she continued.

The Children’s race will start at 9am on April 6th from King Hussein Park in Amman opposite to the five-a-side football field. Runners will take the road towards the King Hussein Mosque, then turn towards the Children’s Museum, move on towards The Royal Automobile Museum, and finally return to the entrance gate and the finish line at the five-a-side football field.

Kurd highlighted the spirit of Jordanians and international runners who join the race, saying that their effort towards a healthy life and promoting tourism are always appreciated.

Last year, the marathon ended with Jordanian runners winning top spots headed by 

Ahmed Muhsen, who clocked 3h 05m 31s to win the 50km ultra marathon (men)

Followed by Yousef Hassan 3:09:29 and veteran runner Mithqal Abbadi 3:10:03.