Rain-soaked Riyadh hosted its first international half-marathon on Saturday with a top prize of one million riyals ($267,000), as the conservative kingdom seeks to boost sports and entertainment in a far-reaching liberalisation drive.
Hundreds of male runners raced in three categories -- 21, eight and four kilometres -- in a contest that started and ended at the city's King Saud University and was called the "Riyadh Marathon".