RIYADH: Mo Foustok and Claudine Roghi returned to Ranco Farm and emerged victorious once again in the men’s and women’s section respectively of the Gulf International Bank Riyadh Marathon, Saudi Arabia’s premier long distance running event, organized by the Riyadh Road Runners, recently.
The full-length marathon (42.2 km) is the largest of its kind in the Kingdom, and runners traveled from as far away as Al Hasa and Jeddah to take part in it.
The race comprises an individual race, running the full 42.2 km over 5 hilly laps, and a team race, in which teams of up to 4 run in relay fashion to complete the distance.
In the individual male race, the hot favorite for the second year in succession was Mo Foustok. Mo bounded into an early lead, and left all others trailing in his wake as he ran kilometer after kilometer at 3:50 pace. With several premier runners opting to run in the team race instead of the full marathon, no one was able to go with Mo and he cruised to a comfortable victory in 2:47:32, despite slowing down somewhat on the final lap. Behind him, newcomer Mark Trewren ran a fine race, his DQ training paying off as he finished in a little over three hours. In third place was Bengt Lofgren, who as usual paced himself superbly and worked his way through the field to finish a mere six minutes behind Trewren and clinch the final podium place.
In the individual female race, the contest was expected to be close between the two outstanding long distance racers, Claudine Roghi and Nikki Layne. Layne was participating in her first ever full marathon, whereas Roghi was competing in her second one in as many months, however Layne’s performance belied her lack of marathon experience as she completed the race in a formidable time of 3:33:05. Roghi however proved too strong on the day, setting a new personal best time of 3:32:29 and ensuring that her reign as the female marathon champion continues.
In third place, but quite a way back, was Franziska Saller, showing good character to gain a couple of places in the final two laps and make her way on to the podium as a result.
The team race was won by hot favorites Abdulmajeed Al-Muayquil and Sylvain Girardeau, who ran a half marathon each in impressive time and beat all other teams, even those comprised of 3 and 4 runners! Closely behind there were the teams of Gareth Gallagher and Paul Dewfall, “Fast and Faster” Rod Woodward and Roger Radua Castano and also the husband-wife team “The Blazeks”.
In all, runners and spectators enjoyed an excellent day out in what was a very well organized event. This year, the Road Runners were also able to make a significant donation from the proceeds of the race to Al Mawaddah charity, who work with divorced families to provide a safe environment for children to meet.
The club would like to thank Gulf International Bank for being title sponsor of the 2016 race and for their support in providing T-shirts, podium and start-finish arch, which gave the race a very professional look. Another thanks goes to Carrefour for their ongoing support and provision of 1920 bottles of water.
Results:
Men: 1. Mo Foustok (KSA) 2:47:32, 2. Mark Trewren (UK) 3:03:05, Bengt Lofgren (SWE) 3:09:18
Women: 1. Claudine Roghi (NZ/FRA) 3:32:29, 2. Nikki Layne (UK) 3:33:05, 3. Franziska Saller (DEU) 4:15:51
Foustok, Roghi celebrate back-to-back wins in Riyadh Marathon
Foustok, Roghi celebrate back-to-back wins in Riyadh Marathon
Ronaldo’s double helps Al-Nassr to 10th straight SPL victory
- Jorge Jesus’ outstanding start continues
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Al-Nassr to a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Al-Okhdood at Al-Awwal Park to seal the club’s 10th consecutive Saudi Pro League win.
The brace took Ronaldo’s career tally to 956 goals as Jorge Jesus’ side recorded the best start to an SPL season in history.
Ronaldo, who was chasing his first hat-trick of the calendar year, looked to have extended that particular run to 16 consecutive years after netting in the 65th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
But Al-Nassr nevertheless continued their outstanding start under former Al-Hilal coach Jesus, who has transformed the team this season.
The title-hungry side, who are seeking their first league crown since the 2018/19 season, moved four points clear of rivals Al-Hilal following the victory, just a few weeks ahead of the sides’ highly anticipated clash at Kingdom Arena on Jan. 12.
With Joao Felix drifting across the front to link up with wingers Wesley and Kingsley Coman, and Marcelo Brozovic controlling the midfield, Al-Nassr’s attacking rhythm was built around crosses to the far post and combinations in the half spaces.
Al-Okhdood did threaten on occasion, as Khaled Narey tested the Al-Nassr backline with runs in behind, but goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi ensured the hosts maintained a clean sheet.
Despite their early dominance, Al-Nassr had to wait until the 31st minute to find the breakthrough. A Joao Felix corner was met by defender Abdulelah Al-Amri, who headed the ball across goal for Ronaldo to apply the finishing touch.
Ronaldo struck again in the closing moments of the first half, after Brozovic and Angelo combined neatly on the left. The Croatian delivered yet another cross toward Ronaldo, who converted with an exquisite backheel.
The Al-Nassr attack maintained the pressure in the second half with Joao Felix finding Coman on the left, only for his effort to clip the crossbar.
The league leaders created a succession of chances but were unable to find a third until Joao Felix was found in the box to slide the ball past Samuel in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Al-Nassr now sit comfortably at the top of the Saudi Pro League table with 30 points, having scored 33 goals and conceded just five, underlining their dominance at both ends of the pitch.
Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah were held to a 1-1 draw by Damac as they looked to break into the top four following Al-Ahli’s defeat to Al-Fateh. A compact Damac side frustrated the hosts, who needed a first-half equalizer from Mateo Retegui to salvage a point.
