Dubai: More than 5,000 competitors are expected to take part in the fourth edition of the Dubai Women’s Run to be held at the Meydan Race Course on Friday, organisers have said.
Held under the auspices of the UAE Athletics Federation and patronage of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) with sponsorship from UPS, Nestle, Gold’s Gym, KCS, Radenska and Aella, the race will be held in three categories — 10km, 5km and 3km.
The main race will be flagged off at 7am by three-time world half-marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, and race director Liesa Euton expects this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever before. “This race is simply getting bigger and better and this is a great sign for athletics in this part of the world,” Euton told Gulf News.
“Our focus is to keep on evolving and I think we have managed to do so over a short period of four years. Much of this success goes to a fantastic team that helps out along with a line of sponsors, without whom we would not be where we are at the moment,” she added.
Loroupe, who at one time dominated all the long-distance events she participated in, said the initiative would go a long way towards enhancing the profile of sport in the UAE, especially for women. “I think this race is a fantastic initiative that will have a lot of impact. We just need to keep such initiatives going in the future,” the affable Kenyan said.
A portion of the funds raised from the races will go to Breast Cancer Arabia, with winners in the 5-km and 10-km races walking away with prize money of Dh10,000 each.
“This race is one of the several things that are aimed at creating a nation of active women while making fitness in sports an integral part of daily living. While our core target is women and girls, it would give a much better sense of achievement to see the entire community being part of this initiative,” said Euton.
