Dubai, Jan 15: The stage is set for the world's richest ever marathon, to be held in Dubai on January 18, offering one million dollars as bonus for a new world record .

The top draw at the 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will be world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who will seek to break his world best of 2:04:26 to sprint off with prize money.The marathon, to be run over 42.2 km of the highways of Dubai will be telecast to some 100 countries. Ten sports will beam the event to the Indian subcontinent.

With Haile Gebrselassie making his last marathon appearance before chasing Olympic gold later in the year in Beijing, athletics fans are eager to see if the little Ethiopian can break his own record.

The field also includes Sammy Korir, Lorna Kiplagat, Berhane Adere among 1000 marathon enthusiasts who will run alongside.

UNI