23rd Dead Sea Ultra Marathon kicks off

AMMAN — The 23rd LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon kicks off today under the theme “Run to the lowest point on Earth” with thousands of local, regional and international participants.

The event, which is held under the patronage of HRH Prince Firas, chairman of the Board of Run Jordan, aims to highlight sports as a way for a better healthy-living. 

Lina Kurd, general manager of Run Jordan, told The Jordan Times that the event will witness high-level runners from around the world in the 50km Ultra Marathon, 21km Half Marathon and the 10km Fun Run. 

“The 50km Ultra Marathon will begin 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,” she said.

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. Runners 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 starts 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. The 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,” she added.

The 10km race starts 2km south of the baptism site intersection. Runners will go downhill along the main road to the hotel area and then onto the finish line at the Amman Tourism Beach.

The LG Dead Sea Ultra Marathon has received the Bronze Label by the International Association of Ultrarunners, backing up Run Jordan’s assurance that it meets the highest international standards.

“The Bronze Label was awarded to the 50km race, granting participating runners international accreditation for their finishing times, which will help them acquire new experiences, as the race will witness wide participation from well-known local and international runners,” she said. 

In 2016, the ultramarathon went through some serious changes that required it to be rescheduled to 2017. 

As part of its support to local societies, Run Jordan will support the participation of 50 runners from the Autism MENA Society.