Dubai: For Suad Abdullah, a passionate Emirati sportswoman, running alone every day was not very satisfying. She always felt something was missing.
One night, the thought of having a ‘running buddy’ struck her mind, pushing her to start up her own female running club through social media.
“We Run Dubai” is the name she chose for her club — which is believed to be the first ever female only sports club in the UAE. Setting up different accounts on social networks was the first step. Within days, “#WeRunDubai” quickly went viral on Instagram, attracting many passionate female runners in the UAE who were looking for running buddies.
Having put the idea forward in the beginning of September, Suad, 27, expects more females, looking for someone to run with, to join her group for a run twice a week at different running tracks in Dubai.
“Running alone was something that bothered me a lot, because I didn’t feel like it was motivating enough, although I like running. Starting ‘We Run Dubai’ has started to spread a lot of positive energy, and a lot of females who were looking for someone to run with were enthused about joining the group,” said Suad.
Suad said that she did not expect people to spread the word so quickly. She also said she was very happy to see around 20 females asking her to join the group since the launch in September this year,
“Our group is increasing every week, with mostly Arab females joining. We have started looking forward to joining marathons and other running events happening in Dubai, which is going to be very exciting for all of us,” she said.
Among the women who decided to join ‘We Run Dubai’ was Atya Al Merri, a 24-year-old Emirati who found out about it through Instagram.
“I felt the same exact way Suad felt. I did not enjoy running alone back in the day, and I’ve always wanted someone to set up a group like this one. Running together in a team makes you push yourself to the limit,” said Atya.
Atya, who considers herself a committed member of the group, says she would always eagerly wait for the next run once one was over.
Noora Ahli, 23, also an Emirati, says she was one of the first members to join the group, which she also found out about through Instagram.
“For those who are looking for ways to stay healthy, I suggest they hurry up and join our group before they miss out the fun. I’ve never been so motivated to run before, but because we are doing it in such a big group, it becomes fun and easy,” Noora said.
Another member of the running group, Mdawi Al Bassam, 22, from Saudi Arabia, says ‘We Run Dubai’ has also become a platform for socialising.
“We Run Dubai can also be considered a social movement, because through the group many girls have been able to meet and socialise with other girls. I expect the group to grow more and more, especially as winter is round the corner,” said Mdawi.
Mdawi added that the last run they did was a first-time experience for her, since they were able to cover 3.8 kilometres jogging and running.
“Our last meeting point was at Wonderland. We then ran over Garhoud Bridge, which was a brand new experience for me and a way to break the daily routine,” she said.
The group plans on joining several upcoming running events in Dubai such as the Dubai Desert Road Run, Zabeel Club Ladies Run and the Dubai Holding Women’s Run.
