Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2026: Race Guide (10KM + 5KM December Edition)

There is no race in the Middle East quite like this one. The Al Marmoom Ultramarathon — known among the ultra-running community as AMUM — takes place entirely within the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve, a vast, protected wilderness that covers 10 percent of Dubai’s total land area. This is not a city race with a desert backdrop. The desert is the race. You run through it, over it and very much at its mercy.

The event launched in December 2018 as the world’s longest desert ultramarathon — an audacious 270 kilometres across five days that attracted elite ultra-runners from 48 countries and landed on CNN and BBC World News. In its current format, AMUM runs a series of distances across the calendar year, and the December 2026 edition brings back the popular 10KM Desert Race and 5KM Dune Run within this same spectacular reserve. For anyone who has wanted to experience running in the Arabian desert — the dunes, the silence, the pre-dawn starts, the flamingos at Al Qudra Lakes — this is the way in.

What makes AMUM genuinely different from other desert runs is the setting. The Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve is the UAE’s first unfenced nature reserve. There are Arabian oryx, gazelles, over 200 species of birds and stretches of red-gold dunes that look like nothing else on earth at sunrise. The race is paperless, follows strict environmental protocols and every edition has included a conservation element, from Ghaf tree planting to plogging. The race feels like it belongs to this place — not the other way around.

The December 2026 edition suits a wide range of runners. The 5KM Dune Run is a proper physical challenge — all soft sand, ridge climbs and deep troughs — and the 10KM Desert Race adds a loop of the famous Al Qudra Lakes before hitting the dunes. Both races are early morning starts, finishing well before the desert heats up. December is the best month of the year to run in Dubai, and if you have never raced on sand, this is a near-perfect introduction to desert running.

Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2026 — Race at a Glance

What Makes the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon Worth Running?

You’re Running Inside a Real Nature Reserve

Most city races pass through parks. AMUM takes you through the UAE’s first unfenced nature conservation reserve — a 40-hectare protected wilderness that is home to Arabian oryx, gazelles, wildcats and over 360 species of birds, including flamingos, herons and black swans at Al Qudra Lakes. The 10KM route loops the lakes before heading into the dunes, and on an early December morning with the sun coming up over the water and flamingos wading in the foreground, there is genuinely nowhere else in running you will see that. It is the kind of thing that stops even serious competitors mid-race.

December is a Desert Running Sweet Spot

Anyone who has visited Dubai in August will understand why this matters. December brings day temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s Celsius, overnight lows around 15–20°C and almost no humidity by Dubai standards. Race starts are in the early morning — around 7AM — when the desert air is cool, the light is golden and the dunes are at their most photogenic. You are finished and in the awards area before the day gets properly warm. There is a small window each year when running in Dubai feels genuinely pleasant; December sits right in the middle of it.

The Terrain is a Real Test, Not a Novelty

Sand running is a skill. Soft desert sand absorbs energy with every step, activates different muscles than road running and demands a shorter, higher-cadence stride to avoid sinking. The 5KM Dune Run puts you straight onto high dunes — ridges, troughs, loose descents that require full focus. The 10KM adds the harder packed tracks around the lakes first, then opens into the dune section. Neither race is casual. The 5KM cut-off is 1 hour 30 minutes, which tells you something about the terrain. Treat it like a road 5KM and you will be humbled. Respect the sand and you will be rewarded.

A Race with Genuine Global Pedigree

The Al Marmoom series has drawn some of the biggest names in endurance sport. Rachid El Morabity — one of the greatest desert ultra-runners alive and a six-time Marathon des Sables champion — won both the inaugural 270KM flagship in 2018 and the 50KM edition in 2022. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Olympic marathon runner and ultra legend, won the inaugural women’s 270KM. CNN International and BBC World News both ran full features on the race. This is a serious event with serious credentials, and even its shorter distances carry that DNA.

The Environmental Commitment is Genuine

AMUM is one of the most environmentally rigorous races on the calendar anywhere in the world. The race is paperless from registration to briefings. Littering in the conservation area is punishable — not just with a warning but with disqualification or removal from the site. Single-use plastic is discouraged, runners carry their own bottles and the race has run Ghaf tree planting events and desert plogging sessions as part of its programme. If you care about running somewhere that cares about where it runs, this is it.

It’s a Gateway to Dubai’s Best Desert Landscape

Come for the race and you will almost certainly end up staying to explore. Al Marmoom borders Al Qudra Lakes, Love Lake, the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park (the Middle East’s largest renewable energy project) and the Saruq Al Hadid archaeological site where Iron Age artefacts were found buried under the dunes. There are cycling tracks, stargazing spots with zero light pollution and some of the most dramatic desert camping in the region. The race is one afternoon of a weekend that can be a lot more than that.

The Al Marmoom Course — What to Expect on Race Day

5KM Dune Run: Ridge, Trough, Repeat

The 5KM Dune Run does not ease you in. From the start line you are climbing dunes almost immediately, and the route spends its entire distance on high, challenging sand ridges with descents into deep troughs between them. The dune heights vary — some are short sharp climbs, others are long sustained pulls — and the loose surface means you are working for every metre of forward progress. Descending is fun and fast but demands full attention on the footing. The run finishes back at the race village and all finishers receive a medal. This is the entry point to desert running at AMUM and it is a genuine test of leg strength and mental grit.

10KM Desert Race: Lakes First, Dunes Second

The 10KM takes a different approach. The first half of the route loops around the Al Qudra Lakes on a mix of hard sand tracks and firmer desert ground — this is where you build your pace and find your rhythm. The lake section rewards runners who stay relaxed and controlled because the dune section that follows is where the race is actually decided. Once you hit the dunes, the surface softens, the terrain undulates and the effort level climbs sharply even if your pace doesn’t change. The back half of the 10KM is harder than the first half in every measurable way. Plan accordingly.

Historic Flagship: 50KM, 110KM and Beyond

When the full ultramarathon distances ran — 50KM in 2018, 2021 and 2022, and 110KM/270KM/300KM in 2018 and 2019 — the terrain expanded dramatically. The 50KM route featured checkpoints every 8–10 kilometres depending on terrain, with hydration, refreshments and medical support at each one. The cut-off for 50KM was 10 hours. The flagship 270/300KM routes were self-sufficient, multi-stage events across five days with overnight camping at the base camp situated near Al Qudra Lakes, water stations at regular intervals and teams of medical staff on patrol. The terrain for all distances was the same fundamental mix: hard sand tracks transitioning to soft dune terrain, with dune heights ranging from ridges and shallow troughs to full high dunes demanding careful navigation.

Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2026 — Registration

Registration for the December 2026 edition had not opened at the time of writing. Based on previous editions of the race, registration opens via the official website at ultramarathon.ae and through the Hopasports and PremierOnline platforms. Previous editions have sold out before the registration deadline, so sign up as soon as the link goes live. Entry fees from previous years (Jan 2026 Dune Run) were in the AED 100–150 range for the shorter distances, though December 2026 pricing has not been announced.

Race Weekend Schedule — December 2026

The exact December 2026 schedule had not been published at the time of writing. The table below is based on the confirmed schedule from the January 2026 Dune Run edition and previous AMUM races of the same format. Times should be treated as indicative until the official race manual is released.

Al Marmoom Race Day Weather — December in Dubai

December is the best running month in Dubai by a significant margin. The early 7AM start means you are on course in the coolest part of the day — the desert is mild, the light is extraordinary and the race is typically done before the temperature climbs into the 20s. The inaugural 270KM edition ran in December 2018 in conditions that reached 35°C by midday, so early starts are a deliberate design choice by the organisers. For shorter distances in December 2026, heat is unlikely to be a major factor if you start on time and carry adequate water. Sand dunes do radiate heat differently to roads, so do not underestimate the felt temperature on the dune sections even on a cool morning.

Prize Money and Elite Information

Past Results — Al Marmoom Ultramarathon Series

50KM — All Editions

10KM — All Editions

5KM Dune Run — All Editions

270KM Flagship — Inaugural 2018

100KM — 2018

Spectator Guide — Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2026

Where to Stay for the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon

The Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve is located about 45–50 minutes from Dubai’s city centre via Al Qudra Road. Most runners stay in Dubai city hotels and drive out on race morning, but there are also desert accommodation options immediately adjacent to the reserve for those who want to arrive the night before and wake up in the dunes.

International Runners — Visa and Travel to Dubai

A Short History of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon

The Al Marmoom Ultramarathon was born out of a bold idea and a remarkable piece of real estate. When Dubai launched the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve in 2018 under an initiative by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the reserve’s organisers saw a sporting opportunity in the vast protected desert. FittGROUP, in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, staged the first ever edition from 11–15 December 2018 — the Meraas Al Marmoom Ultramarathon — covering 270 kilometres across five days and drawing 48 nations to the start line. The prize pot was $80,000, described at the time as the largest in ultra-running history. Morocco’s Rachid El Morabity, a six-time Marathon des Sables champion, won the flagship race. American Olympic marathon runner Magdalena Lewy Boulet became only one of four women to complete the 270KM distance, winning the women’s title.

The second edition in December 2019 raised the distance to 300 kilometres, doubled down on the prize money at $100,000 and attracted legendary ultra-runner Yiannis Kouros as an ambassador. The race ran again in 2020 and 2021 in a shortened format, adapting distances to the pandemic environment while keeping the reserve as its stage. The 50KM edition of February 2022 brought AMUM back to a competitive international level, with El Morabity claiming the men’s title a second time and Ivana Kolaric of Serbia winning the women’s race. By 2026, with the January Dune Run already successfully staged and the December 2026 edition announced, AMUM has firmly established itself as the anchor event of UAE desert running — a race that has been on CNN, BBC World News and the bucket lists of ultra-runners on every continent.

The race’s environmental identity has been as consistent as its sporting one. Every edition has operated under strict Leave No Trace rules, with Ghaf tree planting, plogging events and conservation education built into the programme. AMUM runs entirely paperless — from registration to race briefings to medical certificates. The race belongs to the desert in a literal sense; it operates at the pleasure of a protected area and treats that responsibility seriously. For runners, that is part of the appeal. You are not just racing through a landscape. You are a temporary guest in one of the most protected wild spaces in the Arabian Peninsula.

How the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon Compares

Al Marmoom Ultramarathon — Frequently Asked Questions

What distances are available at the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon in December 2026?

The December 2026 edition of the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon features two races: a 10KM Desert Race and a 5KM Dune Run. Both take place on a Sunday in December 2026 in the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve, Dubai. The exact date had not been confirmed at the time of writing — check ultramarathon.ae for the latest updates.

Is the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon suitable for beginner runners?

The 5KM Dune Run is challenging but accessible for runners with a reasonable fitness base who have done some trail or off-road running. Sand running is significantly harder than road running — softer surfaces absorb energy and the cut-off time of 1 hour 30 minutes for 5KM reflects that. The 10KM is recommended for runners who are comfortable with distance and have some experience on uneven or unpaved terrain. Neither race is a beginner-friendly flat road event, but both are achievable with proper preparation.

What shoes should I wear for the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon?

Trail running shoes with a low-profile tread are the best choice for sand running at AMUM. Maximalist trail shoes with deep lugs can feel heavy and inefficient on desert sand. More importantly, pair your shoes with proper trail gaiters — low-cut gaiters that seal around the collar of your shoe to keep sand out. Sand inside your shoe at kilometre 2 creates hot spots and blisters quickly. This is not optional kit for the dune sections.

How do I get to the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve for the race?

The race village is located near Al Qudra Lakes, off Al Qudra Road in the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve — approximately 45–50 minutes by car from Dubai International Airport (DXB) and downtown Dubai. There is no public transport to the reserve. You will need a private car, a rental car or a taxi/ride-hail (Careem or Uber). Follow signs from The Last Exit Al Qudra service area on Al Qudra Road. Free parking is available at the reserve near the registration zone. Arrive by 5:00 AM to allow time for registration before the 7:00 AM race start.

What is the prize money for the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon?

The December 2026 edition awards trophies and prizes to the top 3 finishers in each category (male open and female open) for both the 10KM and 5KM races. All finishers receive a medal. The specific cash prize amounts for December 2026 had not been published at the time of writing. The historic flagship distances carried prize pots of $80,000 in 2018 and $100,000 in 2019. For the current prize structure, check ultramarathon.ae.

Can I run the Al Marmoom Ultramarathon if I’m visiting Dubai from overseas?

Absolutely — the race has attracted runners from over 48 countries. Most Western and GCC nationals get visa-on-arrival to Dubai. Indian, Pakistani and South Asian nationals need to apply for a UAE e-visa in advance, which takes 3–5 working days. December is peak tourist season in Dubai, so book flights and hotels early. The race is typically over by 10:00 AM, leaving the rest of the day and the weekend free to explore the city. The combination of a desert race, Dubai’s attractions and the city’s best-weather month makes it a compelling race trip.