Dubai Women’s Run, the largest female sports event, takes place this Sunday, 5th November at Dubai Festival City for its 10th edition. It is the last call for the community to register online, and run for female empowerment. The day will include fun activities for the entire family including face painting, balloon bending, stilt walkers, jugglers, Dhol payers, hip hop dancing, and African drummers. Race day kits can be collected from 2nd- 3rd November at Sharaf DG, Times Square Center, Level 2, between 10am – 8pm.
Organised by Plan b Group, in association with UAE Athletic Federation and Dubai Sports Council, and supported by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the event is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council. Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, will be flagging off the event and will also participate in the 3km run. Special guests, Ms Aisha Abdulla Mulla, Director of Friends of Cancer Patients and Namira Salim, the First Pakistani Astronaut, will also be supporting the race’s cause.
The race categories include a 3km, 5km and 10km race. The first winner in 10k category will win AED 5000, the second winner AED 3000 and third winner AED 2000. Further, the first winner in 5k category will win AED 3000, the second winner AED 2000 and third winner AED 1000. This year a special category for only Emirati athletes has been created where they can run either the 5km or 10km race to represent the UAE. The first winner will win AED 1500, the second winner AED 1000 and third winner AED 500.
The annual event is expecting over 3000 participants from all walks of life. Elite international athletes, Nada El-Kurdi and Jennifer Tomazou from Lebanon, Heba Omar from Palestine, and Madalina-Elena Sirbu from Romania, will all be running the 5k and 10km. Girls from Dhaka slums will be participating in the run for the first time, as well as female bus conductors and nannies, as part of Dubai Women’s Run Beyond Blue campaign. A special brigade of women will be running in sarees and artists participating in the run will add colour to the run and a sight to behold as walking art.
The sustainability approach for this year’s run continues to grow with MonViso, Dubai Women’s Run hydration partner. At the event, MonViso will be collecting empty plastics and glass bottles for recycling. Plastics will be transformed into T-shirts with either 100% or 50% recycled fibre, while the collected glass bottles will be recycled into glass cullet, used by glass manufacturers.
“We have been building up to this day for months now and we are very much looking forward to finally seeing everything come together. The event is set to bring the community together to stand by women and shine a light on the importance of taking care of their health. I hope that all women running the race will be gearing up for a fun and fitness-filled day,” said Dr. Harmeek Singh, Race Chairman – Dubai Women’s Run and Founder & Chairman of Plan b Group.
The event will also include special ambassadors, including DWR’s 10 Women of Substance for Today and five Women of Substance for Tomorrow, prominent women supporting the mission. Community Ambassadors who are leaders in their own groups will be encouraging their teams to gather in numbers and participate. There will also be a Special Olympics Squad with members from Sharjah, Dubai, Khorfakkan, Ras Al Khaimah, and Abu Dhabi.
