The room is four paces long by four across.

A bare light bulb hangs from the ceiling, either side are two mosquito nets above rock-hard single beds.

There is a shower, but no air ­conditioning and no television. Outside the door, pairs of running shoes, caked in red dust, stand sentry.

ITEN, Kenya (Reuters) - British athletics coach George Gandy looked on with approval as Mo Farah ran a warm-up lap around a dusty, dirt track in this tiny Kenyan highland town.

The backdrop of rolling hills and small farming plots may suggest otherwise but the banner welcoming visitors to the 'Home of Champions' is no exaggeration.

Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia will be aiming to maintain their dominance at this year's Dubai Marathon with favourite and three-time London Marathon winner Martin Lel back in top form after an injury and last year's women's champion Asselefech Medessa returning to defend her title.

Nearly 15 000 runners will compete in the $1 million race Friday that starts in the shadows of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. The mostly flat route then takes runners along the Persian Gulf coast before ending back at the Burj Khalifa.

Lel leads what organisers say is the best men's field ever, with a dozen runners having bettered the winning time of 2011 champion David Barmasai of Kenya. A dozen men have bettered Barmasai's 2011 mark of 2:07:18, including Ethiopian's Bazu Worku (2:05:25) who finished third in Berlin, former World Youth Champion Markos Geneti (2:06:35) of Ethiopia and 2009 Boston Marathon champion Deriba Merga (2:06:38).