Fancy running a marathon – the full 42195km distance – in these time of COVID-19? Then get your running shoes out and mark April 10 on your calendar.

Dubai Sports Council, in collaboration with ASICS Middle East and 5:30 Run club, have come up with an exciting new initiative, the Marathon at Home, which will take place under the umbrella of DSC’s ‘Be Fit, Be Safe’ and #stayhome campaigns, and is designed to keep members of UAE’s community in running shape inside their home.

The first such race of its kind in the world, Marathon at Home will be a timed 42.195km race open to people of all ages and abilities, and will take place on Friday, April 10, between 8am and 6pm, UAE time, with a 10-hour time cap.

Participants can decide on the shape of their running course, but running on a treadmill or any other training equipment will not be accepted. Running in public areas is also not allowed – the participant will need to physically run on ground, and inside their house.

The participants will also have to make sure they have a fully charged smartwatch or smartphone, with the Strava app installed and activated. They will have to join the “Marathon at Home” group on Strava and stay connected as the app will detect their movement and will assist in keeping track of their timing and distance traveled.

Registration for the Marathon at Home is open now, until April 6, through the www.530run.club website, but race entry is non-transferable between individuals and relays are not allowed.

There are plenty of prizes on offer for top finishers with all the participants receiving a finisher certificate from ASICSME and 5:30 Run, while all the finishers will receive an ASICS t-shirt and a finisher medal.

The top three finishers in the two categories – Men and Women – will get a full running gear kit by ASICS, an entry ticket to the Moscow Marathon, which takes place in the month of September, and a finisher medal. The Top 10, meanwhile, will receive 10 EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) functional training sessions from Vertexfitness.

Speaking about the unique initiative, Fuad Naser, founder of 5:30 Run club, said: “We are really pleased to announce this first-of-its-kind marathon in association with Dubai Sports Council and ASICS Middle East.

“With the spread of COVID-19, it was our responsibility to support the government and country in promoting #StayHome in order to #StaySafe. These challenging situations inspired us to think out of the box and give our community a way to achieve and maintain an active lifestyle, while still #StayingHome.

“So we came up with the idea of organizing a “Marathon at Home”. The main goal of this event is to show that “impossible” is not in our dictionary and that you can still train for a marathon at home.

“We thank Dubai Sports Council for supporting this important and unique initiative. We would also like to thank coach Chris Bone for providing the runners with the marathon training plan, and yoga instructor Zainab Fahad for help the participants prepare, and Vertex Fitness company for the EMS sessions.”

Ana Elisa Seixas, Marketing Manager ASICS AME, added: “We are delighted to be able to support such a grassroots initiative like the Marathon at Home – a great example of the resilience and passion of the runners in our community!

“Despite the circumstances, it is simply amazing to watch the running community in Dubai coming together and supporting each other.”