[12] Winner Joseph Ngeny [nl] was originally only meant to pace the first 30 km (19 mi), but broke away from the pack once race organizers gave approval.

[16] The women's side was also fast; for the first time in history, the top three runners of a race all finished in under two hours and twenty minutes.

Fellow Ethiopians Bezunesh Bekele and Aberu Kebede moved up to the 16th and 17th fastest women of all time.

In 2020, the race organizers stated that they would "not be staging a marathon/mass participation event of any format in Dubai in January 2021" due to the coronavirus pandemic.

[18] The 2022 edition of the race was postponed to 12 February 2023 due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar, after marathon organizers realized that a shortage of accommodation in Qatar would mean that many football fans were planning to stay in Dubai during the football tournament, limiting accommodation and travel options for marathoners if the race were to be held during the tournament.

[22] The course first heads briefly northwest before turning southwest for an out-and-back leg of roughly 6 km (3.7 mi) of length each way on King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud Street, running past the entrance to the Palm Jumeirah up to around the edge of Dubai Media City, and turning around before reaching the skyscrapers immediately southwest.

[22] After returning to Umm Suqeim Street, marathoners then continue northeast for two repetitions of an out-and-back leg of roughly 7.5 km (4.7 mi) of length each way on Jumeirah Beach Road, passing Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and turning around on Al Mehemal Street a few hundred metres past Sunset Mall.

[22] Afterward, the marathon turns back southeast onto Umm Suqeim Street for about 500 m (1,600 ft) for the finish.