It was an early start to the day. The alarm went off at 4.45am and we hauled our carcasses out of bed. We were being picked up at 5.15am outside our rented apartment in Dubai.
We were off to participate in our first Dubai Run.
The 2023 Dubai Fitness Challenge ran from 28th October to 26th November 2023. Launched in 2017, it is an initiative to raise awareness of fitness and wellness by inviting all people in Dubai to do 30 minutes of exercise each day for 30 days.
There are lots of free events organized across the city throughout the 30-day period, and it culminates in the Dubai Run. This was the fifth annual running of this event that involves either a 10km or 5km community run.
Having arrived in Dubai mid-November, we had been persuaded by our kids to sign up for the run which they said would be “a unique experience”!
Introducing: The Dubai Run
As race day got closer and arrangements were being made, we began wondering what we had let ourselves in for. First of all, my race bib (picked up on the Friday) had a six digit number on it.
Then came the realisation that you could start the run any time between 4.30am and 8.30am. We were being picked up at 5.15am to drive to a parking area close to a metro station to take the train downtown to start our race at about 6.30am.
Having found a parking spot , we headed for the Metro station. Our train was packed full of people on their way to the fun run. We began to re-evaluate what this whole outing might entail.
Eight or nine stops later and we joined the masses heading out of the station. Our day tickets purchased for the Metro proved superfluous to requirements as the sheer weight of numbers had forced the metro officials to open the ticket gates.
We got spat out onto the street along with a squillion other, mostly orange shirted, participants. Apparently if you registered early enough for the event, you also got a free (orange) T shirt from the event sponsors.
Clearly, we hadn’t registered early enough, but in the end that was a blessing as it made it easier to spot each other amongst the mass of orange clad participants.
There were people standing outside the Metro station with banners saying things like “5km event this way” but we didn’t really need those. We just got swept along (very slowly) with the mass of humanity.
To Run or Not To Run
We soon realized that the chances of actually running this 5km event was just about nil. As we made our way to the start, all 14 odd lanes of Sheikh Zayed Road in downtown Dubai were packed with participants.
There were groups of people everywhere. Friends, families, whole companies or departments, clubs and teams. And they were all stopping for group selfies, or a team chant, or to wait for someone.
It was good natured chaos, and we hadn’t got to the start line yet!
Eventually, after about 50 minutes after leaving the Metro station, we rumbled across the start line. And not a lot changed. We just kept strolling along, diverting around aforementioned groups.
The odd keen runner did attempt to take off at speed but soon realized that it was a fairly fruitless exercise. Start, stop, step sideways, then sideways again. Stop, change direction back across the road, lunge for a gap in the throng, grind to a halt, walk slowly.
Only the truly committed persevered. The rest settled into a sedate stroll, enjoying the architecture on display. The course went through downtown Dubai and skirted the amazing Burj Khalifa. Lots of architecture to admire if you were so inclined.
The organization on the actual course was superb – plenty of water tables, medical posts dotted regularly along the way, and marshals pointing the way from beginning to the end.
The End
The end came as bit of an anticlimax. There was lots of loud music and then suddenly the crowds in front of us were gone. Once over the line and free to go in any direction, they quickly dispersed to coffee shops, restaurants, malls and metro stations.
It was probably the slowest 5km fun run/walk we have ever done, and we were exhausted.
We had shared 5km of road with 226 000 other people, and the kids were right – it was a unique experience.
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