The Ethiopian Ayele Abshero made a great impression by winning the Dubai marathon in front of Dino Sefir with an exceptional time (2h 04'23 ") for a start of season. Ethiopia occupied the first four positions thanks to Markos Genetti (2h 04'54 "). The women's race was also the portion of the Ethiopian as Aselefech Mergia (2h 19'31 ") outpaced the Kenyan Lucy Kabuu (2h 19'39") and the Ethiopian Mare Dibaba (2h 19'52 "). The two winners won 250,000 dollars each.