I just got back from the Dead Sea Marathon 2004, and I'm totally exhausted! I ran the half marathon race - I'm not a professional runner, I just run for fun. The race was well organized from the beginning but the only problem that was there was the weather, there were strongs winds all along the run and sometimes sand storms where one couldn't see 5 meters ahead! At times I was chewing sand! And those 21 K's seemed endless, but at the finish line I was surprised to see the spectators cheering and waving at me, although I came in late (2:02:16); and we had the chance to enjoy an open air concert and take a short swim before going back to Amman. All in all, it's a great experience - you should be there next year :).