“Best UAE Road Race - Hands down, the RAK 1/2 Marathon is the best UAE road race. Pre-event info, organization and new course set-up exceeded my expectations. I look forward to continue taking part of this great running event in the coming years.”

“Very fast and well organizad HM - Flat, fast and well orgainized half, personally I preferred the new path compared to previous years. Nice the add of the Mini Marathon too, though I'd possibly recommend an earlier start and closer start of the different age groups.”

“Baggae collection - Baggage collection was very poorly managed. That is the only bad experience. Rest all is fine.”

“Not as compared to last year event - New route is good but less participation of the support crowd since it was away from the city. Management must see that runners are cheered and supported well after 15K mark specifically those are sub 2.5 & 3. Happy that event went very well and I enjoyed very meter of race. What i noticed that there were only couple of stall at race village. suggestion, why cant management include breakfast as part of event itself.”

“keep it up. good job. - Parking area and start point is very far. by walk we reached the running spot from parking Area. Morning very cold my self, my wife, my 2 kids all by walk we reached the Start point. As per information, there should be a cab arrangement in the parking area, but Marshalling person at parking area saying no cab, go this way u will reach the stating point. we didnt expect his. Marshalling person at race start point, i was asking where water will be available, i dodnt know he sad. pls avoid this”

“Excellent organization and course layout. - Our first time to run this event and we really enjoyed it. The only things I saw that were discomforting were the line at bag collection which we did not participate in thank goodness, and the mass of people at the finish line just standing around. I stumbled upon the race goodies bag but missed the banana and snickers. Runners should be marshaled out of that area immediately after crossing the line. All in all a great experience and we will be back next year!”

“Overall a great event - Once again I have enjoyed the RAK half marathon. In general the organisation and marshal support was very good. However, I did prefer the previous courses where I could more easily see the other competitors on the other side of the course, the public support was better before and I used to like seeing the older areas of RAK. I did get caught up in the long queues at the bag drop, but I know that this is being addressed. I hope to be back again. Thank you”

“ Well organized - Awesome route would like the same for next year too”

“everything was perfect except baggage collection - Everything was perfect except baggage collection. Also a post race physio counter would really help post race ”

“We love the RAK Half Marathon - This is my wife's 3rd time participating and my first time. We both love the race, RAK, and the environment. We'll be back again next year. I would also like to add that the course was really great. The only addition I would add is a stretch of the run even closer to the actual ocean. The parts that are close to the ocean make the run that much more enjoyable. Great job RAK half marathon team. See you again next year. ”

“A fantastic event! - Simply a great event, any issues there ight have been will surely be solved for next year. The event overall is still just fantastic, with a beautiful new venue.”

“Amazing Race. - It was very well planned event. The track was top class. It was my first time and I will be doing it every year. ”

“registration closes too early - Registration closes too early - Race village was a bit lame - compared to similar sized North American Races. ”

“World Class - Dubai Marathon please take note. Despite a few minor negative comments ive seen, it cannot be denied that this wasn't an outstanding event, further when you consider this is a new course and start - no hiccups. Solid hard work and dedication. Dubai Marathon need to look at this event as a benchmark. ”

“Amazing race and organization from start to finish - This is my second half RAK marathon and i thoroughly enjoyed it. The race has the right number of people doing it so it does not feel very crowded. The water stations were frequent and adequate. Race officials are very responsive on social media. The only very minor issues was the text messages with the timings and pictures were showing gross timing instead of net time and medal was heavy :D Otherwise it was very well organized. I highly recommend this race! ”

“Running wise, best half marathon race in the area - I was little worried about new race track, but it was actually great, as usual. There were no slopes on bridges between island and track is very easy on the feet, perfect for personal best. This year there were no much of spectators, but guess it will be sorted in time. Organization, fueling stations, signage ... is prime, and shall be example to others how to manage such event. Well Done RAK! See you next year.”

“Fun run and a new achievement - My first half marathon, thrilled to have completed it. All was well for me. For improvements, wish it was not necessary to walk after the race, there was something else exept water and pocari at the support stations toward the end, and better organized baggage collection.”

“baggage drop and pick up was a disaster. - Took me an hour to get my bag back and the staff asked me to describe the bag. surely they hadnt kept it organised - 1500 bags? no wownder!! Support tables had only water ... only one table was seen to have isotonic drink. New route was great ”

“A Great Run! - Despite what is listed below, the event was great and the organisation was very good. Although the location of the race is absolutely beautiful, it is too far it seems for spectators to gather along the race course. Couldn't find any energy gels during the race! The race village was too crowded with people standing in queues for their bags, couldn't really find anything in the village. I stumbled across the race goodie bag by pure accident, it wouldn't be nice to miss it.”

“Good event - Did not receive any photos from the event. My event status on premier online is not working. Would really appreciate if premier online could rectify the fault and send a link to my race pictures.”

“awesome weather and track for new PB - Despite the delay at baggage drop/pick, this hands down the best organised event in the region. Bring back the print out certificate at the finish!”

“This race is ok but real problems need addressing - Overall ok but needs improving! Pre event bus communication from AD: poor. Start line, too chaotic. Need corrals based on approximate finish times. eg 2.30hrs, 2.15hrs... Lack of pacers again v disappointing. The new course had no atmosphere having moved from real RAK and downtown: no cheering crowds, no shade, not even RAK proper- just a way to showcase the new fancy hotels? Bag check:( -almost missed the start line:( Worst of all: Bus from AD one hr late, super stressful, borderline disaster:(”

“RAK First Timer - Having seen the new route I was keen to try this one out. The race was organised well, the parking was plentiful. Good amenities in the race village. Great (but heavy!!) medal. The text comms re my time from Premier Online were still coming through long after I finished the race and had returned to my hotel and my husband was using the app during my race which suggested I would complete 10km in 4 minutes at one point! Just minor issues... otherwise great! I would have liked more pics though.”

“Elated to have participated in RAK Race - Guidance on available accommodation in different categories shall help foreign participants. Mgt should provide some nourishment after race, as generally U do not carry wallet for race. Hungry & tired was not a good feeling after enjoying 21.1 km run.”

“Good event. - Bags collection was nightmare. Walking back to the parking challenging. I had crew buses parked at the 16th KM with engines on along the race road. Engine fumes are not nice to smell during the race. Maybe they could have parked somewhere else or switch off the engines.”

“It's great, but some Gatorade would've been good - RAK Half remains my favourite event of the year. However, I would have appreciated some Gatorade or Lucozade on the course towards the end. Also, water on BOTH sides of the track would have helped. Other than that, liked the new course and this remains a superbly well-organised event. ”

“No atmosphere - There was no atmosphere on the run whatsoever. Marshalls were not encouraging they were yawning and looked like they didn't want to be there. Play some music, make it easier for people to cheer and encourage! The walk from the car park was listed as 1km, we took our son thinking that will be fine. It was 3km to our spot in the car park. So far away, ridiculous! Well signposted on the run so it was clear where we were going. Lucy”

“Brilliant day - loved it! - Even though the bag collection at the end was very long, hands up to the guys finding the bags for stopping the 'push in' people. ”

“Improvements needed - The bag drop off and bag collection was a disaster. More toilets for men was also needed. The signage and marshalling to get to the parking area could also be improved, we drove by mistake to the island ( and lost 20 minutes) due to the fact that there was no Marshall and no signs at the first roundabout. Otherwise the event was pretty ok”

“Well organised event, happy to come next year - The course is wide enough, fast and flat; I hope you keep it the same next year. Great organisation, thanks for everything, happy to recommend to others. Good, frequent water stations - very helpful. I liked the post-race photo opp with my net timing on the podium, however, I couldn't track down the photos that were taken. I thought they would've come through with the photos taken during the run. Convenient start and finish across from the Doubletree. ”

“Amazing new route and great atmosphere - Only issue: I could not get more water to drink at the finish line ”

“Al in all was very nice even - So the race village should be open earlier since you guy make people come to the place before 6 and when we arrived 5;45 the village looked kind of deserted. You should provide some tents areas with pillows to sit down and hind cause in the morning it’s very chilly and there was no were to go to hide and you can’t keep warm even if you warming up ”

“Big event feel - You should put bins 200 yards after the water station. So much litter thrown on the floor. Near that start line there was a board saying bib 2000+ That pointed runners to go in both directions. When the race started, 2000+ were still 200 meters from the start line with a huge empty space in front. everyone should be walked up closer to start line two minutes before race start as there was confusion and no guidance from Marshalls. ”

“Good event , cheering need more - Good event, i expect more cheering , and increase more volunteers in the baggage counter is required. I waited nearly 1 hour for baggage after my run . Over all good event ”

“Did not expect from RAKMARATHON - Please change the race village next time.”

“Scenic enjoyable race - The official race bus from Abu Dhabi was 25mins late and also made a second unscheduled toilet stop which had only 1 women's and 1 men's toilet meaning this stop was lengthy and we arrived at the race around 6.45am. I quickly put my bag in storage and went to the bathroom to start the race at 7am. This left no time to warm up, settle and prepare myself for the race and was quite stressful. There was no acknowledgement or apology from the bus organizers for this lateness.”

“Great Family Experience - Great Event!!! Loved the run & the day. Keep it up. ”

“One of the Best Half Marathon event in UAE - Totally enjoyed the event. The support was great, the race village was packed with activities and food stalls, all portable toilets were cleaned and well maintained, and the course was fantastic. The medal is beautiful.........so proud to have it. Read: https://www.runtheworldjourney.com/blog/my-2nd-rak-half-marathon”

“The UAE's greatest running event didn't disappoint - The Dubai Marathon could learn allot from the organisers of the RAK half. ”

“keep it up. - Keep it up and keep up the good work. Regarding the baggage counter, even I didn't leave my things there (because I didn't bring too much things), it's normal to mismanage some things some times but we will learn from it for what happened. and sometimes its also the people/runners who was only over acting. for me, its a great experience to be part of this event because I proved to myself that I can do it.”

“Amazing location ... Awesome experience - My 5th race in UAE, but the only one to make the fotos available within 2 days and that too hassle free. Suggestions: 1. More baggage deposit counters as per bib nos. 2. More water, carpets and shade in Race village. Post running stretching was difficult. 3. Put destination stickers on race buses. Inform post run pickup location and time to runners. Marshalls didnt know. 4. Put more photo booths or large RAK-HM logos so that runners don't have to queue. 5. More food stalls in race village.”

“Good event, with a few comments - A very well organized event, there was more space than last year's edition, especially at the start line, it felt less cramped. The only downside to this experience was the long walk from and to the parking area: very cold in the morning when you are running on your own and have no choice but to go with a t-shirt to the start line, and quite exhausting on the way back after running. It did not help that the medal was so heavy! Maybe small shuttles could take runners to the parking area?”

“The World's BEST and FASTEST Half Marathon - Hey folks... so the bag collection was a hassle, let's get this in context .... that event was absolutely PERFECTLY oragnised and executed. The course (yes i miss the old one and was worried about the new one) was absolutely fast as heck (I got a PB!) and completely fantastic with no traffic anywhere near or in earshot ... huge police and event support, fantastic coning and masses of space. My goodness me ... really... how can that be improved... it can't .. do it again, and again. Please!”

“Smooth and fast race just like the organisation - Great organisation. I had no issues with my bib pick up (did so the day before) and had an amazing overall experience ”

“Superbly organised event - I have only superlatives to describe the event, the pre-communication, the T-shirt, the medal, the atmosphere, the support stations, the volunteers. And thank God for the course change as my friend and I woke up 10 minutes before the start of the race and we still made it. Obviously, as we stayed in the hotel nearby, we did not account any baggage related issues. ”

“excellent - None”

“Best running event in UAE and the region THANK YOU - RAK Half is the highlight of the running calendar in UAE. The organization was spotless, same as every year. An event that cares about the runners and not only about the elites. I was skeptical about the new course, but it was very fast and many of our club members got PBs. Also there was good support in some areas. Photo service is amazing. Improvements: 1. Tshirt design has not changed in 10 years :) 2. Q at baggage drop 3. Bus-shuttle from hotels in Al Marjan to start and back THANKS SO MUCH!”

“Great event...loved the race - 1. Maybe good idea to have a bus service from the parking to the start line and back. 2. More refreshments should be part of the give aways. But an amazing and impressive metal. Photos were excellent”

“nice race - RUDE marshall at finish line - Always loved the RAK Half Marathon, the previous course within the city where a lot of people would cheer on you along the course was what i liked the most. this year they changed it to mostly desert and therefore we got less support from the course. the VERY downside of my experience was a marshal who would not allow me to go back to get water as i missed to take from volunteers. asked politely but what he said was "it is your problem you did not get water - not our problem" RUDE guy.”

“Excellent race - Fast, flat course, excellent support all the way around from stewards and plenty of water stations. On the negative side, the baggage collection was very slow and the buses back to the hotels were few and far between, so we had to wait for ages for our bus to leave. But apart from that, everything else was superbly well-organised. This was our first time running this race and we loved it - we'll definitely be back next year. ”

“Great event and fast race - Great race if you're looking for a well-organised event and a fast course to get a PB. Only major issue was the queue for the bag drop, which meant I didn't have time to warm up properly. A couple of smaller points is that there could be more toilets (big queue pre-race) and the security couldn't direct me where to go for prime start position. Otherwise, it was a great event and I'm looking forward to next year!”

“Nice event - Nice event and course to participate. Recommendations- early start in favor of late finishers; bus dropping location not well briefed to all race marshals; chaotic bag collection; less giveaway; only banana for eating on finishing the race and finally if Net time can be counted as race result along with capturing Gross timing would be much better. Look forward seeing next year again. ”

“Good event - I liked the race , the start was just bottle necking , but after that it was great ”

“Very well organised event - All went very smoothly, very much enjoyed”

“Good for overall - Bag drop and collection was horrible. The bus race from Abu Dhabi was late.”

“Brilliant day - It was a great race and event. I thought everything was incredibly well done. Looking forward to running again next year!”

“Great Event - The event was very well organised. Only areas of improvement, The backage collection was frustrating, it took approximately 50 min for me to collect my bag. The bus service from Dubai needs to improve, on arrival the bus dropped us in the car park and not in the race viallge as expected. There was lots of confusion on where to take the return bus, at the village or car park. the return bus left the event very late. Drivers were not sure which bus is going where. No clear signs ”

“Great event. Pity about baggage desk. - Great event! Great route. Great support. Pity about bag collection. I will do it again next year”

“Generally slick but woeful bag collection - Bag collection diabolical, which has already been acknowledged. More Pocari Sweat on the course”

“A good course but bad organisation at the end - The course itself was very good and well marked out. Areas for Improvement: Bus pick up time was late from my hotel. Baggage collection queue was over 1 hour in the heat, really badly organised. The buses on departure from the race were chaos, there were no signs, the drivers were unsure about what hotels they were going to, I had to wait on the bus for 1 hour before it left I would not run this Half Marathon again due to the bad organisation at the end of the race with the baggage / bus chaos.”

“Very enjoyable event and definitely will do again - The tracking in the app for friends and family did not work correctly and shown runners travelling in the opposite direction at the start of the race. Also, the timing sent via SMS was incorrect and wrong schedule.”

“Great event but room for improvement - Bus service was not great and dropped us off far from the race village. Baggage collection took far too long. Drink stations should have served something more than water towards the end of the event. ”

“Well organised and fantastic new course - Super event. Great photo service. Would have loved to see more crowd cheering. Baggage collection needs to be improved. ”

“Great organization - as usual - The new course was pretty cool, I enjoyed running around the island.. 100% on organization - you made my day! :) ”

“Outstanding race - One of the best for PRs - Sports apparel are recommended in the village (everything about running) ”

“It was superb event - Simply Awesome.Rak Half Marathon 2019! I enjoyed my race with new course and all the arrangements were fantastic ”

“fabulous experience. beautiful route - I could spot washroom only at 15 km. I don/t knw if i missed but i had to use the washroom and since i didnt find it for the longest time, it did slow down my race by few minutes. ”

“Like the new course! - Baggage drop-off and pick up was a complete disaster. I am sure you all know this.! Would have been quicker to walk the 2km to the car !”

“Great Race . - Really enjoyed the process. However the bus and waiting around in the cold was too long”

“Good race - Overall it was good. Over the years I am noticing event participation fee is increasing and giveaways are reducing. Even at the race village there were few free things. Baggage collection is very hard.. we had to wait for very long time. ”

“AMAZING RAKHM - Runtastic, Amazing work from organizer, I will definitely recommend and i would love to join next year. ”

“Excellent - The bag collection was awful but willing to overlook if it improves next year”

“Nice New Course... - ...however, parking is too far from the finish. walking back to the car is not so favorable.”

“Loved the new course - overall great event - Always a great event with brilliant organisation and great marshalls! My one complaint though is that I don't understand why the medal has to be so HEAVY! I get the theme and all, but surely that can be obtained with a whole lot less weight?! It just ruins it because I feel I don't want to hang it up now as it will take up so much unnecessary weight on my medal rack and not allow for many other medals to make their way onto my rack one day. ”

“Bag collection disaster, waited an hour! - All great, apart from bag collection which was a disaster, waiting for an hour not what you need when you are already knackered!! ”

“. - .”

“Great experience - The app did not not display the 2019, as advertised. The "podium" photo with time was not clear. The bus No.2 waited too long leave for the Bin Majid Beach Hotel - nearly 1 hour”

“Excellent event, which I thoroughly enjoyed! - I really enjoyed the race and am already looking forward to compete again next year! Very well organised and executed.”

“Not just about the baggage - I've ran RAK multiple times - one of the must dos on the running calendar. This year, aside from the baggage collection, there was also: - showers closed early, due to baggage delays lot of people couldn't take a shower - walk to the car park was about a kilometer - too long! - the course, though flat, lacked character of the old I will surely return, & the organisers got a lot right offering good value and an occasion for a new PB; but lessons must be learned from all the feedback. ”

“Only two remarks - 1. Medal is too heavy. :) But I loved the cup!!! 2. Either the route or timing was odd. Route was a bit boring and missing the usual cheerers along the road, curiously looking at us and it was too hot. Now, I’m not sure wheter the start timing changed or the route missed building shades and usual breeze between the buildings, but it was way too hot post 10th km (about 8am in my timing) and when we got to that circle after 16th k it was very monotonus. ”

“Great event - Great overall, but wasn't clear location changed at the time of hotel booking”

“Nice event but can be improved. - Isotonic drinks were not available after 15K which are required as you go near to finishing line. Baggage drop-off and collection took a lot of time specially for collecting baggage it took us good 30 minutes wait which was so frustrating after running 21km. It should definitely be improved next time. Apart from Banana more items should be provided for eating on the finish line. It can be availed by having more sponsors for the event. ”

“I just really love RAK HM! - The organization is super. The atmosphere is always great. This years route was very good. The surrounding area very good. Bravo!”

“Great race as usual - One of the best races in the region, held up to international standards. The organizers put in a lot of effort in making sure everything goes smoothly before, during and after the race. The new route is awesome! ”

“Great event but the baggage situation was madness! - This continues to be one of the best events in the UAE racing calendar; the race pack was great, the course, signage, parking and organisation continued to be first class. The decision this year to only have four (4) mixed baggage windows was an act of madness. Before the race, one of these was dedicated to pack collection, leaving only three to drop bags at. After the race it took nearly as long to collect baggage as it had to run the race. In the sun, this meant people burned in the queue!”

“Excellent event - Really enjoyed the event but was heavily delayed waiting to collect my bag at the end which put a dampener on things as I was late for work”

“New course is great - some minor tweeks needed - The new route is great. As always, it was well signposted, well marshalled and plenty of support stations. Two issues need sorting for next time: 1) there simply wasn't enough space for the mass starters; and 2) the baggage drop and retrieval took far too long (I waited 30 minutes for my bag - that's just not acceptable). Look forward to next year!”

“A very good event. A must every year for me - Except for the baggage collection; the event was a big success.”

“Great event. Well organised. Fast. - Really enjoyed the new course. Significant improvement on 2018. ”

“Very well organized. We loved it. - Loved it. Can you please improve bag drop and collection. Surprised how did you leave that uncovered. It was very poor indeed. ”

“very well organised. enjoyed the event - It was organised very well. Hats off to the organisers and the support staff to withstand the early morning breeze for the participants. The course was good too and so was the medal. hope you improve every year. ”

“An enjoyable event - Although flat, the new course was not as interesting as the last one with it difficult to see supporters as it spanned quite a large area. The pre-race communication was good, as were the giveaways and the race started on time. The bag drop was chaotic though with bags not stored in the correctly numbered sections. We waited 45 minutes in the heat to receive our bags.”

“Poor organization and planning - The start was very far from the parking area, the baggage drop-off/pick-up was chaotic and took 35+ minutes in the sun to collect baggage after the race (hope UPS gets its act together before Expo), only two small coffee trucks so very long lines, boring course through desert and construction areas, freezing cold showers. I won't be back if they keep the same course. ”

“It was a great experienced for me. - Just the baggage counter, it was somehow, needs more. ”

“100% rating for me - Great Al Marjan island location. Support stations are good. Giveaways are nice. Very organized parking. I had no problems with toilets and shower after-although water is cold. I have my car so I didn't experienced the long queue for baggage so If i experienced it the rating maybe 60%. My suggestions I hope it will start next year at 6:15 AM so average and slow runners will not be exposed much on the sun. Overall RAK marathon is the best! I already pre-registered, see you again next year!”

“Great experience, Definitely taking part again - When we reached the 3KM mark, one of the hotels' buses decided to offload 50 of its staff across the road. The staff - all 50 of them, proceeded to cross the racing track WHILE we were still running on it. Hundreds of us had to dodge the staff who were just 'walking int he park' and some collided with them. It was dangeous and this was VERY bad by the hotel”

“A well arranged race in most instances - Pack delivery and pre race and information was very good, bag drop off and pick up was terrible, big queues especially to pick up, in the heat after the race left you feeling pretty bad, most events have this area much better organized ”

“Bag collection problem - I had to wait in the line for 1 hour to collect my bag at the end of the race. Totally unacceptable and an unnecessary waste of time.”

“Loved it!!!!!! - Can't wait for next year”

“i love rak marathon my favorite - Live telecast of mass runers was amazing it gives you a filling of elite runer cameramen on bike ahead of you capturing live action something very special well done organizers i wish best of luck for premier online, event organizer and all other who are directly or indirectly involved with this amazing event .”

“RAK 2019 - Not up to the mark this year - -Course was dry with no public on the road and felt like running on a construction site. -Baggage collection was a mess & it took 1 hr 15 mins to collect my bag. -Walking distance to the race village from the parking area is more & it was more laborious after the race to walk back. Overall this year race was not up to the mark. We need major changes & improvements in future.”

“Generally good but luggage storage was bad - Why not just a big rack where everyone hangs their own bags to one number??”

“A great event poorly managed - To start with good,I guess the Race Village was excellent with food & drinks too,photobooth with timing was a great idea.The course itself was still unprepared,we felt like running in a construction site.The parking was nearly 2 kms away,imagine walking after the race.The photographers on the course were absent , i used to get 10-14 pics , this time it was just 3. Worst part, after the race , no finisher bag , they just gave a medal and a banana. When I inquired , they said its over”

“Overall great event to be part of - Needs huge improvement in Baggage collection, long ques and slow retrieval. More toilet facilities required to avoid long wait especially in cold weather. New race course was bit monotonous. ”

“A well organized, flat and fast half marathon - This race was very well organized and the new course was an absolute pleasure to run. Some might have found it boring but if you're running purely for the competitive aspect and to get the best time, then the course is irrelevant really. It was flat, the roads were super-smooth and the novelty of running on a man-made island made it even more spectacular. My only gripe would be the toilets. Please consider having separate urinals for those who don't want to queue for ages just for a wee.”

“Best Ever - Very well organized again this year, even better than last year and the race it self is really good!!Thanks a lot”

“❤️new course - Pleased event has moved to Al Marjan - more space and great enviro for supporters. Event was well organised; very swift release of results and photos. Great job! Now if only we could have some more music stations along the way to liven things up along those long stretches this would really give it broad, mass appeal!”

“To Improve in certain places - Race village was not good and baggage collection was horrible waited more than 40 minutes to pickup the bag and no banana, fruits, bars at support station, many runners were out of fuel in the last 5 km...”

“Buy one Marathon get two free! - A good event spoilt by the woefully inadequate, staggeringly badly managed bag drop/collection. A ‘marathon’ hour queuing in the sun took the edge off any euphoria of finishing a hard slog around a typically dull course and left no time to use the shower facilities. I’m sure the outlets in the race village suffered as most of their potential customers were queuing. The ‘marathon’ trek back to our cars was another endurance event. Plenty of room for improvement. Great bamboo mug though, thanks! ”

“Poor restroom facilities - Come on guys, every year you fail to offer enough restroom facilities. Just look at the queues before the start of the race, this is completely unacceptable. As a result many folks started the race in some discomfort only to find a queue at the 5 km facilities! Having to stop during the race really spoils one's time & all that hard work training gone to waste. Also you missed a massive opportunity to offer quality merchandise at the event promoting the RAK Half Marathon & RAK itself!”

“What a fantastic event...love it. - RAK Half Marathon 2019 was one of the best organized event. I love coming to RAK every year. They raise the bar of expectation each year. Amazing organization of the event and fantastic support in terms of marshalling, stations etc so keep up the good work.”

“Less impressive than expected - Not 100% convinced on the new course and location, I am sorry”

“Needs improvement - When we arrived in the morning, there was no sign of water station or bananas in the Race Village, there were only food trucks! that was little disappointing. The course was nice and water stations were ok too, however, I felt this time the vibe was missing, not many stations played music or the route marshalls were not participating except one near the start/finish line. Race pack collection needs a lot of improvement, giving away 6-7 race packs to even those who did not run is not acceptable.”

“Well-organized and a successful location change - This is one of the most well-organized events in the UAE. They successfully managed a new course location that worked pretty well. Only real downside was that the gear bag drop-off and collection was very poorly organized/managed--there wasn't a good system in place and it was very slow to drop off and even slower to pick up. On a positive note, the event giveaway of the eco-friendly tumbler/cup was awesome!”

“The best race in the UAE! - RAK is a fantastic race for any runner! Brilliantly organised (starting from the registration phase), better facilities than most races in the UAE and just an amazing vibe to the event. Highly recommended!”

“Great organisation and one of the best races ! - Loved the new course, organisation, water stations, giveaways, weather and literally everything about the race. It can be even better if there is a way to encourage more crowd support for the runners.”

“Great experience for a first timer - It was my first half marathon, and all went very well- excellent organization & support from the staff, great social media presence and the racing village facilities were really nice. The only thing where we had a hard time with was to wait for about 30-40 min in the queue to pick up our bag from the baggage desk and another 15 min for the staff to find the bag. Overall very positive experience and would participate again! ”

“Recomended event - The event was well organized ”

“Well organized, super course & awesome Experience - Very well organized, excellent give aways, lovely course/location/weather, good parking facilities and all-inclusive registration cost - an experience like no other I have been to.”

“New course was brilliant - The parking lot was far from the start line. Earlier was more accessible. The water stations did not have electrolytes, only 3 along the course. Need electrolytes to help with cramping and replenishing the salts.”

“Great running event! But... - It was a great running event overall. however, I have just noticed that after the finish line, they only gave away hydration in limited stations. once passing the security towards race village, I forgot to take water and banana (I only got pocari sweat) because I was still focusing to catch breath. When I felt a bit better, I tried to get back but security wont allow me (which I understand), so they told me to go to race village, but there was no free water stations. pls consider next time. thx”

“Good race - Bring this race back to the city. More support is always better and helps alot”

“Good experience - Nice”

“RAK HM Rocks! - Great effort by all...well done!”

“Wonderful. Superb organization in all aspects. - I love this race for many reasons. It is supported so well by HRH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi and the Ras Al Khaimah government. I like that the race shirt is RAK not a corporate logo. Love getting my bib number via courier; it is so much easier than picking it up earlier in the week. Great email contact to answer questions. Lovely race village. Superb announcer. All around very well organized. Amazing speed in getting photos to us afterwards. Thank you for all the souvenirs: medal and towel.”

“A HM not to be missed! World Class Organization! - Keep outperforming yourself every year! Simply put, hands down best organization down to every single detail in all races. Just to name a few: free fast photo service, unique medal, nice new flat course, shower facilities, lots of parking, numerous support stations, volunteers wearing hygienic gloves, UPS race pack delivery, SMS timing notification, nice village, online video streaming, email communications. A+ in all the above. Improve bag drop. Keep up the good job Nathan & Team! C u in 2020! ”

“excellent marathon - It was one of the best marathon I participated . Thank you for everything ”

“Good event, always been a part of this event. - Arrangements were good, except the baggage service. Very disappointed to see that we had to wait in line for more than 1 hr 20 min to collect our baggage after the event. They were very unorganised, We offered to help them if they needed, but the guys there were not willing to listen to anyone. ”

“Excellent event. - Loved it. Only criticisms would be bag collection took way too long, and bus service was VERY badly organised. Our driver did not even know how to get to the event.”

“Great event, coming again next year. - Everything was great, but the only thing that is missing is more toilets in the race village. Before the race the cue for toilets were just too long. Also for the baggage stations. ”

“A great atmosphere to run - Great event to run at. Lot of energy and wonderful support from the organisers. Great course. ”

“Bucket list ticked! - It's my first time in RAKHM and my third HM so far-I crushed my PB! Would definitely run again in RAKHM. Well organized event. So love the course too! :)”

“New Course and PB for for the RAK Half - Always enjoy the RAK half as the organisation is very good. Liked the new course as the previous one pasted the start finish line at about 17km and finding the last few km after pasting the finish was always tough for me. We pasted the start finish with the new course, but at 10km it was easier to think, next time I will see it will be as I cross it. Marshalling excellent and support stations at ideal distances. Will look for new PB next year. Liked the new medal better than previous years. ”

“A great event as always - would be back every year - It is such a popular event with all local running clubs that expectations are always very high. Organizers have striven hard YoY to maintain its stature and it is admirable to see their efforts. 1 disaster this year was bag collection, an absolute mess, managed by people who had no clue of that - I am sure would worked upon next year. Overall, a great route, amazing and adequate support stations, even greater weather, making a great race!!!!! Absolutely enjoyed and would come back every year.”

“great event - Next year do something about the last roundabout ”

“A great event. Well organised and highly enjoyable - Everything was great. The only room for improvement would be to make sure the aid station volunteers know to remove the caps from the water bottles before handing them to runners. The worst part of the day was waiting in a queue for 30 minutes in the sun to get our bags from bag drop. The system was obviously not great and can be improved on. ”

“Wonderful experience! - Not enough power drinks. Please propose some every 2.5 Km rather than every 5 Km, and not in an open cut, because most of it slips away while running. Apart from that, it was a wonderful experience!!!”

“Well organized event - More toilets please I waited nearly twenty minutes lol”

“An excellent half marathon - would recommend!! - An excellent event. The only downsides were the queues for bag collection which were very long and slow. ”

“Superb - cant wait for next year - Great event, support, atmosphere and organisation - I would definitely recommend this fast, flat wide course.”

“Excellent event - The queue for the bag collection was far too long. ”

“Fast new route - I’ve always thought the RAK was well organised- the biggest disappointment was waiting so long for my bag after the race.”

“Great even and well organised - Great event on a nice flat course , plenty of parking and well managed with a fantastic medal !”

“A great event as usual. - I wasn't sure about the new course but it was really good. Always a top event.”

“Race course is great - The shuttle bus service was inefficient poor information on the collection point. The return I wait one hour in the bus ridicolous. There must be bus leaving every 20 mins. ”

“Great event but require improvements - Please improve the bus timings especially from RAK to AUH. We don’t have time to refresh. We need more food options as a merchandise or giveaway. Thanks ”

“Good event - Well organized. Giveaways a bit skimpy this year. Overall, good race. ”

“Great event will be back - Pls make the car park closer”

“I Love it - I would encorage every person to join this event as it give to all catagory healthy to start discover his andurance and Empower his self to reach 21km which its not easy but all we can do it. I have been joined it 9 years and forever indha ALLAH . I love RAK city and RAK HM race. I like all fast response from this event and social media advertising platform. This event surlly will make pepole change lifestyle. I love the new map 2019 which give us more O2 and free smoking and cold temp. Thank”

“Loved the course - I have run the RAK half marathon many times over the last decade. Loved the new course.....might be worthwhile moving the start/finish to where the car park is. ”

“Excellent! - Well organised - a lot of fun! Great work, loved the Insta stories and communication. Collecting bags at the end was too long though. ”

“An amazing race, as always. - Perhaps consider beginning the race just 15 to 20 minutes earlier. After 8.30 the sun gets pretty hot and makes running a lot more challenging. ”

“Well organized event and more participants expecte - Wash rooms near parking area would be more comfortable as many participants come from long distance.”

“Great event - Excellent from the organization, course to the people! Anytime again ”

“Good facilities and good support - I found out the route changed this year. This was shown when tge bis driver who picked us up in the morning didn’t know where to go. Some of the route are a bit boring as you run through a strip of beach and back, or go through part which are empty. Overall, facilities were good. Wished i known in advanced there was showers facilities. Loved tge giveaways esp the magnets.”

“Great Event Great Organization - The event continues to grow in popularity. The pre event communication was exemplary. Marshaling and route signage was good. The parking was quite far which was one the only drawbacks Race village was beautifully structured with constant entertainment and access to decent eat outs. The medals are great however slightly on the bigger size. Race giveaways are also quite good.”

“sucks - I was given a position at the end of the que- I registered very early, and i pu the expected time for finishingg but was given a bad position- plus nobody uses theh gun or gross time for ranking runners except you- Gun (gross time) is only used when you have 8 people running on the track- field When you have hundreds running only net time is used to rank. You event sucks - I ran Dubai |marathon, I run ADNOC Marathonn and I run ovberseas Marathons no one uses gross time to rank runners.”

“Enjoyable course - The course was good, but the bagage collection was appalling, we waited 57 min to get our bags and sat on the bus back to our hotel 35min and we would have missed our breakfast at our hotel (closed at 11). Thankfully after calling the hotel they agreed to wait until 11.10, time we arrived at the hotel. We finished our race at 9.20!!”

“Very well organised as usual - Best race in the region, now even better with the new course. ”

“A lovely race, fantastic race village; - Loved the new route; and the race village was fantastic, very family-orientated. Would have Enjoyed more support along the way. ”

“A very well organized event - Extremely well organized from start till end - however the parking situation needs to be looked into. Pre race is fine and post race walking to the car was not fun. Race itself was absolutely superb and the medal is by far the best i have ever owned. ”

“Great - Parking too far. Need too much time before start. Toilets in village, need more. Should try and arrange pace groups. Otherwise great event”

“Baggage Collection and Rest Rooms - Participated third time in a row, but in 2019 waited around 60 minutes to collect baggage, washrooms were not many so people waited more than 25 minutes before the start of the race. Pre race and During race is good, post race things to be considered and improved as many people struggled. After the race people are dehydrated and need quick collection of bags to ensure the event is done. please look into this one. ”

“Excellent race - Excellent race”

“Excellent event - Superb course, fantastic work by everyone in in the organization team, improved Year on year and bring innovation too. Few suggestions; Better quality of t-shirt and option of sleeveless start at 6.45am”

“New Route is good, Start time should be early!!! - I liked the new Al Murjan route, would suggest organizers to try and make early morning start preferably 6Am or 6.30Am for all runners, Route Marshals need training, met only 3 wonder marshals who were cheering us and encouraging to push us harder, very angry on some rude marshals near the finish line, they were acting as if they are club bouncers, need organizers to train marshals to be polite with runners. Sports drinks only Pocari, should have more variety for runners.”

“Amazing Event: definitely will comeback next year - Fantastic Event both for enthusiasts and beginners. Well organized with no confusion on any part of the program”

“Fast course great organization - Distance to parking Is quite far and to be there at 6 am for a 7 am start is early , shower service was great , good seeding, not a lot of supporters on the race course”

“Fantastic event and stunning view. - Remarkable experience. Event is well organized, kudos to the team and most specially the government of RAK. Hopefully, next time I'll beat those elite (lol)”

“one of the best races organizing ever. - Unique and perfect experience. every year gets way better. please organize a marathon, everyone's is so impressed and wished you guys who organize dubai marathon ”

“Took me 11 years, but I can back - Great organisation / event overall Rant(s) I’m a walker, not a runner, and there were insufficient toilets on the course. First location had TWO and second location had four. I, along with others had to pee behind bushes, etc. Not good! (And technically leaving the course too. Even at the start there were not enough, as there was a long queue just before the start. Second rant ”

“Overall a good race, but some disappointments. - Rants first: more toilets PLEASE! At the start and on the route. Standing for over an hour for bag collection really put a dampener on the whole race. Having to walk 2km to and from the start, is also not ideal. But all in all, I did enjoy the race, and will probably run again. Thank you to the organizers and all the volunteers and marshals (the high fives at the 17.5km water station were awesome! Thank you!!). ”

“Scenic Course, Poor Organization compared to prior - Pros: The route was amazing with some stunning views. Social media team was prompt in responding to queries. Classy medal. Cons: The baggage delivery section was chaotic. Have never seen such a mess in any other events in UAE. Waited 45+ mins to collect it and the staff were not bothered to search for your bag. If they cant find your bag in first look they just forget about it. The marshals response to toilet location :"Sorry there are no toilets" This year looked like they were low on budget.”

“Perfect race messed up at the end during bag pick - The RAK half in general is one of the most well organized runs as far as the bib delivery, pre race arrangements and course route and Marshalling go.PB course But the 45 minute wait for bag collection in the heat was just hordendous and dangerous since there is a real risk of heat stroke to the dehydrated runners. That part was badly orgsnised, sorry. The walk back to the parking also took far too long. NOt sure if shuttles were available Showers were cold and slightly down market this time”

“Great flat course, ideal for your PB! - The course in nice and flat, and clearly marked and cordoned off. Support along the route was fantastic. The weather was ideal for a 21K. Baggage collection was a mess - it took an hour! The Dubai bus dropped us off at the car park far away instead of at the race village. Having said this, I will participate at the RAK Half again!”

“Great Half Marathon - Organisation team were great! Would be great to see more Sustainability (less plastic/waste) throughout, eg: a better way of serving water (paper cups) instead of all the bottles/caps that are wasted. No plastic bags at the end/in pack.. Need more bathrooms at the start. Starting line needed more hype. Would be great to have vouchers for massages/ other relevant race sponsored items in the race packs. Also have pacers running with diff timings on their shirt to follow. Thanks, well done!”

“A well organized event. - Awesome experience as always!”

“Good for Pb - Flat, not much to see, a bit boring apart of seeing friend almost finishing when you still have to run half of the marathon ”

“Excellent - Thank yoy premier for your fabulous organization ”

“So much fun - Loved the race. Can't wait for next year's. ”

“Great location and excellent organization - Wonderful event and amazing organisation ”

“Well organized - The collection of our belongings at the end is very slow”

“Fantastic - Thank you, a day i will never forget.”

“The fastest track to have PB - Great track most of my friends and myself achieve our PB here”

“Loved the course this year! - I always enjoy the RAK half but this year was the best yet - beautiful new course, super flat and super fast, well organised and professional. I can’t really fault anything but it would be nice to have more music along the route and the service in some of the coffee trucks was slow but in general it was great - keep it up!’”

“The World's Fastest (boring) Half Marathon - Race village start - Needs music or warm up event to liven up/motivate runners. Race start - Needs music to motivate runners rather than the guy on mic talking stats. Race - Would of preferred race start 6am as it got too hot. The course was boring & music at drink stations could be added. Race village finish - Medical team were prompt. Would of been nice to add teams of physio or race related activities. Bag pick-up needs better organization as I waited 1hr in line. Enjoyed the photo booth.”

“Great new Route - Bags drop & collection was disorganized. Live tracking was confusing ( log in with user name & password)”

“Good event - Waited 80 minutes for bag collection after event. Otherwise all good ”

“Nice venue better than the previous years - I want a closer parking area and more upbeat music on the route ”

“a very well organized, very nice half a marathon - It would be very nice to have more public and music along the route. Keep going on with a lot of pleasure, i enjoyed it very much”

“The best half marathon in uae - The best half marathon in uae and the new course is amazing ”

“Excellent event. Fast course, very well signaged - Great course. Plenty of aid stations. Plenty of parking space. Expensive accommodation in the near by hotels.”

“Excellent Course, Great support - Best conducted race.. Hats off to all the organizers and volunteers.”

“Well organized race and excellent race course. - I hope next time the medals will be smaller than the one we have this year and lighter in weight. Improve the shirts quality and design and give an option for who prefers sleeveless shirt. Better give finishers shirt as one of the giveaways. Get more sports/other companies to sponsor/provide some snacks for the runners after crossing the finish line. The race bag drop collection section needs improvements. The line for collecting the baggage after the race is slow moving.”

“Disappointing - I have been participating in the race since last 6 yrs but this year was very disappointing Race route- was completely in sun with no shadow and it seemed like you were running in desert. The water stations were adequate but the sports drinks were limited. It was a long walk from the car park. The race village did not have a sport related counter. This is completely based on my camparison with the previous RAK runs”

“شكراً - شكراً”

“Nice itinerary; organization leaves to be desired - I really liked the calmness of the new Marjan island itinerary; on the flip side, the race village wasn’t rich enough like other Dubai races (full of promotions and giveaways). Race pack was poor, so was finishers pack. Most annoying was the endless lines of buses everywhere with engines running, gasing all the runners at almost every turn. They should banned. Also, would have been nice to have the start / finish closer to the parking, or at least provide free shuttles. Lots of room to improve.”