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March was the time when Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt received hundreds of hardy athletes, ready to tackle the 4th annual Sharm El Sheikh Half Marathon.

The race was held on Friday 12th March and started from Um Marikha Bay at 8 o'clock in the morning. The early start was needed to help the runners avoid the hottest part of the day. The final runners were expected to complete the course before 11am. At this time of year the temperatures in Sharm are more suitable to running this type of race than later in the season when things get much hotter. The organisers were predicting a temperature of between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius, but participants still needed to take precautions as there was hardly any shade around the route. There were drinks stations, or service points as the organisers called them, at four places around the course. The fee for entry into the races was 30 Euros.

The race organisers are the same group that puts on the annual Luxor marathon that recently saw the running of its 18th edition in January, so runners could expect high levels of organisation.

For runners who were unable to participate this time, Sharm El Sheikh holds another Half Marathon later in the year during November. This version is known as the International Half Marathon and attracts runners from Italy and the UK as well as local athletes. The route in November is largely within the area of the Ras Mohamed National Park.

During March flythomascook.com operated a schedule of flights to Sharm El Sheikh from a choice of UK airports including London Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester.