Search party finds missing runners

 2nd Jabal Ishrin race set for April 2003
 By Jim Carroll

WADI RUM - A new marathon held here Sunday was intended to boost tourism in the region but two lost competitors did more sightseeing than they intended.

Thirty-one competitors from across Europe and the Middle East ran the 42km course in the red desert sands guided by hand drawn maps and red-and-white marker sticks at the turns.

Government officials hope the Jabal Ishrin annual marathon will draw more spectators and participants in coming years, becoming a major tourist attraction like other races such as the upcoming Desert Cup.

The event also raised JD1,000 for people with neurological disorders from donations and fees paid by the participants.

Most runners finished the race in about four hours but two runners who lost their way took about six hours to make it across the finish line.

Veteran marathoner Ammar Sabbah, 35, from Amman, said he and another participant had been running about two-and-a-half hours when they missed a turn. They realised their mistake after several kilometres but could not find their way back to the course.

A search party was sent out to find the runners, led by an expert in desert tracking but the runners "found a bedouin tent and a sweetest old lady was there and she offered us tea and wanted us to stay for lunch," Sabbah said.

They couldn't stay for lunch, Sabbah said, but accepted her directions which got them back to the finish line.

Despite the ordeal, Sabbah said he "liked it much more than any other (marathon) I've done in my life... it was beautiful scenery."

Among the runners who didn't take any detours, Zahie Sklawy of Lebanon came in first at 3:46.05. He was followed by Rady Suleiman 4:05.43 and Salem Al Zalabieh 4:17.33, both from the Rum area.

The race was Dieter Kmoblich's 83rd marathon and his third in one week.

The 49-year-old German came in first among his 13 compatriots that entered the race because "we want to help people."

The Germans donated two wheelchairs and a walker to the Society for Care of Neurological Patients in Jordan, which receives most of its money from charitable marathons.

The next Jabal Ishrin race is set for April 2003.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the World Humanitarian Marathon and Ultra Marathon Foundation, a philanthropic group.

Tuesday, October 22, 2002
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