Building a World Class Running Event: The Burj2Burj With Warrick Mac Nicol

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Organising a mass-participation running event might look simple from the outside: close a few roads, welcome runners to the start line and hand out some medals at the finish, but behind every successful race is an enormous amount of planning, investment, and risk. In this episode of the Sapphire Running Zone podcast, host Tim Rogers spoke with Warwick Mac Nicol, founder of the iconic Burj2Burj half marathon in Dubai. Their conversation reveals the scale of effort required to build a major race from scratch and why entry fees are only a small part of the financial puzzle.

Warrick Mac Nicol was a competitive athlete before moving into event management

From Athlete to Event Creator

Warwick Mac Nicol’s journey into race organisation began long before Dubai. A competitive athlete from South Africa, he was exposed to event management early in his career, often racing and then helping pack up the event afterward. After moving to Dubai nearly a decade ago, he became deeply involved in the city’s rapidly growing sports scene, even helping organise the massive Dubai Run & Run event, which attracts hundreds of thousands of participants. That experience eventually inspired him to launch a new business, with a partner, called Worlds Iconic, that included a half marathon connecting two of Dubai’s most famous landmarks.

“I don’t even call them events — I call them experiences.”

The result was Burj2Burj, a race designed around the idea of running between iconic destinations — from the world’s tallest building to one of the world’s most famous hotels.

Running Between Icons

The race route itself is part of the appeal. Runners begin near the Museum of the Future, pass the towering Burj Khalifa, travel through older parts of the city, and finish on the beach beside the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab. The course is fast and relatively flat, making it attractive for personal bests, but the real draw is the experience of seeing Dubai’s skyline from a runner’s perspective.

“You get this beautiful run along the beach road… and then you see the Burj Al Arab for the first time.”

The race has grown quickly, reaching around 15,000 runners in just its third edition, with more than 4000 travelling from outside the UAE.

Why Race Entry Fees Don’t Cover the Costs

Many runners wonder why race entries can cost £40, £50, or more. According to Mac Nicol, those fees barely scratch the surface of the total cost of staging a large-scale event.

“Our entries don’t even cover 30% of the cost of the event.”

Major expenses include:

• Road closures and route logistics

• Medical teams and emergency services

• Toilets, barriers, and crowd management

• Medals, shirts, and race bags

• Insurance and security

• Marketing and international promotion

  
  

Even something as simple as start-line facilities becomes expensive at scale. For the 2026 race, organisers installed around 275 toilets just at the start area for thousands of runners, a significant cost item in the budget.

The Hidden Complexity of Event Logistics

Planning doesn’t stop once a race finishes. In fact, preparation for the next year starts almost immediately.Teams review every element of the race — from the start area to the finish experience — identifying improvements across dozens of operational areas. But in a rapidly developing city like Dubai, even the race route isn’t guaranteed. Road construction and infrastructure projects mean organisers sometimes need to redesign the course months before race day. At one point, the start line had to be moved just a week before the race, forcing the team to rework logistics for what Mac Nicol estimates was more than 200,000 moving parts.

The Role of Elite Athletes

Top professional runners can also be a significant investment.

Flights, accommodation, management teams, and prize money all add up — with Burj2Burj investing roughly one million dirhams (over £200k) in elite participation, but the exposure can be well worth it.

“Having those athletes here — the publicity and awareness it brings is so worthwhile.”

High-profile runners bring media attention, inspire amateur participants, and elevate the race’s global credibility.

The Real Business Model of Races

If entry fees don’t cover costs, how do races survive? The answer is sponsorship and partnerships. Brands help fund events in exchange for exposure and engagement with participants. These partnerships often support:

• hydration stations

• race packs and product samples

• marketing campaigns

• broadcast coverage

  
  

Without sponsors, many races simply wouldn’t happen. For new events especially, building those partnerships can take years.

Building for the Long Term

Newer events must invest heavily upfront to build brand recognition. hat means accepting losses in the early years while the event grows. Mac Nicol and his team see it as a long-term investment in both the brand and the running community.

“We believe in investing in the long term… we’re building the event year by year.”

The Burj2Burj: More Than Just a Race

For Mac Nicol, the goal isn’t simply to organise a half marathon. It’s to create an international running experience that attracts participants from around the world. With ambitions to reach 20,000–25,000 runners in the coming years, Burj2Burj is quickly becoming one of the Middle East’s most distinctive mass-participation races.

The next time you pay an entry fee for a race, it might be worth remembering just how much goes on behind the scenes to make that start line possible.

Go to the event website here

HAVE A LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE