The International Desert Marathon event kicked off this morning for the 11th year at the initiative of Ofer Padan, CEO and owner of the Israel Marathon Company and Eilat Municipality, with over 4000 runners who participated in 4 different legs of the Desert Marathon and about 350 participants from 25 foreign countries.
The Eilat Desert Marathon has established itself as one of the most desirable off-road races in Israel. This is the only marathon in Israel and one of the few in the world, which combines challenging terrain conditions, fascinating routes, a wild and spectacular view of the sea, mountains and canyons. An extraordinary race whose routes were chosen with care and thought and together created the perfect connection between the body, the soul and the nature surrounding the city of Eilat. The desert marathon regularly attracts tourists from around the globe and of course from around the State of Israel who take advantage of this time of year, the excellent weather that awaited them in Eilat in order to enjoy an international atmosphere.
The race is initiated by the Israel Marathon Company, which specializes in unique concept events in the world of running, together with the Municipality of Eilat, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Defiance and Sports, and includes five legs: a 42.2 km full marathon leg that starts and ends near the Harrods Hotel, a 21.1 km half marathon leg m, from the 10 km section in memory of Ilan Levy and Jonathan Azoulai, born in Eilat who were killed in a car accident and from the 5 km section. The participants of the marathon who painted the city of Eilat enjoyed an expo exhibition, a parade of national flags, a family race with a 1.5 km folk route, yoga classes for warm-up and relaxation, a closing party at the Club Hotel, a liberation run and more.
Ofer Padan, CEO of the Israel Marathon Company: “The concept of the desert marathon was born out of a desire to create an extraordinary desert celebration. In cooperation with the Eilat municipality, we formulated a concept of a different type of marathon, a desert one, which over the years has become attractive and touristic, which is getting stronger year by year. This year, too, we created a desert experience that extends over 3 days of a real sports celebration.”
Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri: “Eilat as an international sports city hosts dozens of European and world championships in a variety of sports alongside leading international events, including the desert marathon which has become a blessed tradition and attracts runners from all over the world. Thanks to Eilat’s natural resources, including the sea and the desert, along with investment in sports facilities Throughout the city, we get to reveal the beauty and charm of our city to tens of thousands of athletes and spectators from Israel and the world.”
Yossi Chen, CEO of the Eilat Tourism Corporation: “Once again, we are proud to hold the 11th Desert Marathon in the city of Eilat, which is a marathon that takes place in wild nature, within the Eilat Mountains Reserve with a magical desert view and on the horizon the Gulf of Eilat, which contains three borders of peace: Israel , Jordan and Egypt”.
The Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Danny Shahar: “After more than a decade, the desert marathon has already become known worldwide to all marathon enthusiasts, and every year we witness an increase in the number of tourists who come to the event and stay to rest in the area. The office hosts journalists and bloggers from around the world, who share with their millions of followers on social networks, experiences from the marathon, and impressive photos of the desert landscapes, which promote Israel’s image as an attractive destination for sports tourism.”