Al Mouj Muscat, Oman’s lifestyle destination, is preparing to welcome more than 6,000 runners, who will participate in the seventh annual Al Mouj Muscat Marathon from January 18 and 19.

Many of the participants will be travelling from overseas including UK, France, India, South Africa, US, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Following dedicated efforts by Al Mouj Muscat and Oman Sail to put the marathon on the map, the number of participants entering the event has grown by 600 per cent this year compared to 2017. This significant growth underlines its increasing popularity in the global marathon community and highlights Al Mouj Muscat’s status as a world-class destination.

As the country’s leading Integrated Tourism Complex, Al Mouj Muscat is dedicated to driving growth in the tourism sector in alignment with the Oman 2040 Vision. As the title sponsors of the marathon event run by Oman Sail, Al Mouj Muscat shows its continued commitment to hosting and increasing the number of Muscat attractions.

Commenting on the forthcoming Al Mouj Muscat Marathon, Nasser bin Masoud Al Sheibani, CEO of Al Mouj Muscat, said: “We are seeing a marked increase in participants as well as spectators for the marathon this year – a growth trend we are seeing across Al Mouj Muscat all throughout the year as we continue to develop our offering and increase awareness. We have a truly unique destination here in Oman that lends itself well to global events such as this.

“We are currently putting preparations in place to ensure all our visitors have an exceptional experience with us. We are proud to be showcasing our own world-class destination to runners and visitors, and hope that they also have the chance to experience the wonderful culture and discover the beauty of Oman.”

The two-day ‘festival of running’ will feature a kids run on the opening day (January 18). The following day will see the running of the established full marathon, half-marathon and 10km races, as well as a marathon relay category open to teams of four to six runners who will each run part of the full 42km course. - TradeArabia News Service