Welcome to the main section of our website! Please use the menu buttons on the right to navigate through this section where you’ll find all you need to know about the race.
If you find you still need to know something that you can’t find here, try our FAQs section or alternatively use our contact form – we’re here to help!
Please remember our registration dates:
Early Bird Registration/Discounts: 1 June – 30 June ONLINE ONLY
Normal Registration: 1 July – 31 October
Late Registration (extra fees payable): 1 November – 31 November
There will be NO REGISTRATION after 31 November (or when all places are full).
Race History
His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, under whose patronage the event is hosted annually established the RAK Half Marathon in 2007. In the inaugural running of the race, Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru finished the race faster than the then World Record time setting a new World Best for the half marathon distance and in doing so instantly elevated this new race to worldwide attention.
In the second edition of the race in 2008, 4 men broke the (once) elusive 60 minute barrier in what had become the World’s Richest Half Marathon and the size of the overall field doubled as runners from around the region and across the world traveled to experience this super fast international class race and the emerging emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
By year 3 the race had been awarded an IAAF Silver label, becoming the only road race in the region and one of only a handful in the world to receive this world class accreditation from the global governing body of athletics.
As an associate member of AIMS (Association of International Road Races and Distance Running) from the outset, the race graduated in 2009 to being a full member and became the only road race in the region to achieve such collective status.
As well as gaining in credibility, the race continued to break records seeing Dire Tune set a new National Ethiopian Record, Abebu Gelan (ETH) setting a new Junior (women’s) Half Marathon record and Deriba Merga (ETH) equaling the World 15km record en route. Patrick Makau won for the second year in a row in a time of 58:52 setting a new course record and becoming the all-time second fastest men’s finisher in a half marathon. In addition, no less than 5 course records were broken during the 2009 race with hundreds of runners achieving Personal Bests in what was rated as the most competitive in all of distance running (road, track, cross-country and indoor track) for the month of February by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.