General information about Petra Marathon
At 6:00 in the morning all participants walk from the Visitors Centre in Petra through the Siq to the start area in front of the Treasury.
Both the full marathon and ultra half marathon starts at 6:30. All runners have 7 hours to complete the race. Runners still on the route after the cut off time will be swept up by a race official
or medical car and driven back to the finish at the Visitors Centre.
Kindly note that after 5 hours the route closes at the 30 kilometer mark (12 km mark for the ultra half marathon) meaning that runners
who haven’t passed this point at 11:30 will be taken out of the race.
All runners who complete the marathon or ultra half marathon within the time limit will receive a medal. In the evening a complete
result list is expected to be ready. Finishing certificates will be handed out at the Gala Dinner.
Do not forget that this is first and foremost an adventure. We are far away from the homely comforts and this makes it impossible
to offer services at the same high level as usually provided in city marathons.
Please note that all decisions made by the race officials and/or medical team are final and not up for discussion.
The race organization (Albatros Travel’s Adventure Marathon department) reserves the right to reject any entry and to disqualify
and bar any individual from the Petra Marathon and Ultra Half Marathon. This rejection/disqualification may be based on, but is
not limited to: violation of the instructions given by the Race Officials and/or Medical Team; unsportsmanlike conduct; non-payment
of race fees; competing with an unofficial number; competing with an official number assigned to another person; transferring or
attempting to transfer an official number to, or to obtain such number from, another person; being paced during the race by a person
not entered in the race; accepting assistance from non-race participants; crossing the finish line without having completed the entire
course; and providing false information on the race entry form.
Individuals disqualified from the Petra Marathon and Ultra Half Marathon will be removed from the race results and may be barred
from future Adventure Marathons. The race organization reserves the right to change the details of the race.
The Marathon Route
All participants meet early in the morning in front of the Petra Visitors Centre where luggage bags can be dropped of and toilet
facilities are available. At 6:00 the race officials leads the way through the Siq to the starting point in front of the Treasury.
The Petra Marathon 2010 starts at 6:30 for both full and ultra half marathon.
From the astonishing and unbelievable sight of the Treasury the route quickly turns in to the ancient city of Petra and shortly
after the start you find yourself surrounded with tombs, caves and monasteries carved out in the mountainsides.
Just before the 3 kilometre mark the route turns out of Petra and goes uphill for almost 2 kilometers before reaching the main
road taking the runners north on hilly terrain, but with tarmac surface.
After approximately 7,5 kilometres the route leaves the asphalt road and turns in to gravel and dirt surface with loose rocks
and soft sand. Full marathon runners will make a full loop around the hill top “Al Musirh” while Ultra Half marathon runners
take a short cut on the east side of the hill. Both routes then head in to a river bed gorge “Siq Al Bard” leading out to Little Petra.
At the 12 kilometre mark (10km for Ultra Half) the surface again turns to asphalt and follows the main road again.
Shortly before the 15 kilometre mark (13 for Ultra Half) the full marathon course turns left at a Bedouin school and leads out
to a turning point set just at the bottom of a hill. Full marathon runners will receive a bracelet as proof that they have
completed the full turning point stretch.
After 30 kilometres full marathon runners are back at the Bedouin School and merge again with the ultra half marathon course.
From here the route goes uphill to a mountain ridge for the next 5 kilometres, but the strenuous efforts are rewarded with an
astonishing view over most of the marathon route, the mountains covering Petra and on clear days even Israel can be seen.
On this mountain ridge the surface again becomes gravel for about 3 kilometres.
The final 5 kilometres are steep downhill running towards the finish line located at the Petra Visitors Centre. The last
kilometre flattens out and makes it possible to gather the remaining energy for a sprint across the finish line where you
will receive your medal and a big applause for a race well done.
Kilometer signs can be found along the entire route. Owing to the conditions, however, they may be placed +/- some meters from the exact point. The kilometer signs are therefore only for orientation. Note that there won’t be any toilets along the course, which means that there are toilets everywhere!
Please note that the route description is subject to change according to the forces of nature.
|
|
|
Please note that these are guideline maps and subject to change!
|
Water stations
Water stations are situated along the route. At selected stations energy drink and/or bananas are also provided. Please see the route map for details.
Personal supplies
It is possible to have personal supplies delivered at selected water stations. The personal supplies can be food, drink, sunscreen, extra clothes and shoes or other personal necessities.
Race Officials
Danish Race Officials are in charge of setting up the route as well as controlling the logistics on race day. They will be patrolling the route and guiding on the most crucial places on the course.
The race officials have full rights to change any detail of the race if necessary.
All decisions made by the race official team are final and not up for discussion!
Medical Team
A team of specialised medical doctors will supervise the marathon and assist in case of injury or exhaustion. The medical team have undisputed authority to exclude runners who, according to their judgement, should not continue running if it involves a serious health risk to the runner.
The medical team will be patrolling the route as well as being situated in the finish area and on strategic points of the route.
Runners who wish to drop out of the marathon should go to the nearest drink station and wait for a car from the medical team or race official team. If it is not practical to go to a drink station simply wait in the side if the road.
We encourage all participants to look out for each other and report to the officials or medical team if you see an injured runner on the route.
All decisions made by the medical team are final and not up for discussion!
Facilities at the finish
The medal is given immediately after the finish line has been crossed.
A medical tent is set up at the finish to check all runners passing the finish line.
Water and a sandwich lunch pack are given to all participants.
Personal supplies, extra clothes and other personal necessities can be picked up at the luggage bag area.
Shuttle busses leaves the finish area every hour to bring runners back to their hotel.