What’s On has details of Haile Gebrselassie in Dubai. The Olympian joins Dubai Creek Striders for a training session before Dubai Marathon.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of running alongside an Olympic athlete, now’s your chance.

Legendary distance runner Haile Gebrselassie will be joining local running club the Dubai Creek Striders along the new track on Jumeirah Beach on Thursday January 22 at 8am, ahead of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on Friday January 23.

Organised by marathon outfitters and DCS partners Adidas, the four times Marathon World Champion will be leading an easy training run and taking part in a Q&A on the day. The run will begin where Jumeirah Beach Road meets Al Athar Road (down from Safa Park). You don’t have to be a Strider to participate – all runners are welcome to attend.

Even if you won’t be lacing up your trainers come marathon day, there’s no doubt you’ll have heard of Gebrselassie. The Ethiopian legend is one of the greatest distance runners of all time. Not only does he have two Olympic gold medals to his name over 10,000 metres, he’s also won the Berlin Marathon four times in a row and the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon three times in a row.

For years, he held the world record for fastest marathon time (2:03:59), a record he set in 2008 at the Berlin Marathon at the age of 35. The current fastest marathon time is held by Kenyan distance runner Dennis Kimetto, who ran the Berlin Marathon 2014 in 2:02:57.

This year’s Dubai Marathon will see some impressive elites vying for the title. Gebrselassie’s countryman Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele will be making his Dubai Marathon debut. The three-time Olympic gold medalist (over 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres) will be going up against Lelisa Desisa, who won the Dubai Marathon in 2013 and will be gunning for the top spot again.

The Dubai Creek Striders is the largest running club in Dubai, and has been meeting for over 13 years. They run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (even through the summer!).

dubaicreekstriders.org