My first Dubai Run and why I’m going back

Dubai: This year was my first Dubai Run, and I realised very quickly why people keep returning. I had heard friends talk about it for years, but nothing prepares you for what it actually feels like to run on Sheikh Zayed Road with the entire city awake around you.

I started the morning at 3am, half-asleep but curious. The metro ride set the tone for the day. World Trade Centre station was filled with people in blue T-shirts, laughing, taking photos, filming TikToks and chatting like it was late afternoon, not before sunrise. There was no rush, just an excitement that everyone seemed to share.

When I reached the venue and met my friends, the crowd felt endless. Every age group, every nationality, every kind of runner and non-runner. Parents pushing prams, teenagers dragging their still-sleepy siblings, older participants warming up. It was one of those moments when you look around and think, yes, this is exactly what Dubai looks like.

"I’ve probably passed Sheikh Zayed Road a thousand times, but running on it for my first Dubai Run was a surreal experience," said my friend, Vinita Kullai, who also participated for the first time. "It was incredible to see the city out at 5am on a Sunday in such high spirits. The energy was contagious! I also met so many lovely people along the way, which reminded me that there is something really special about living here."

We walked together toward the start line and ended up talking to complete strangers. People were making friends without even trying.

The run itself was straightforward. No pressure, no competition. People cheered as it began, and the mood stayed light throughout. Paragliders hovered above with UAE flags, DJs played music along parts of the route, and every few minutes you’d hear someone encouraging the person next to them.

Running past the Museum of the Future, Emirates Towers and the skyline felt surreal. It’s not often that the road everyone normally races across by car becomes a place where you walk or run freely with thousands of others.

What stayed with me wasn’t the run. It was the atmosphere. For a few hours, no one looked stressed or distracted. People were genuinely present. Babies in prams, school kids, office workers, grandparents, all moving in the same direction with the same simple goal. Enjoy the morning. Forget everything else.

It sounds small, but it isn’t. You don’t get that kind of shared mood very often.

The cheering near the finish line was loud and unfiltered. Everyone celebrated at their own pace. It didn’t matter how fast anyone finished. What mattered was that they were part of it.

After the run, my friends and I found a breakfast place and sat there with the kind of tired happiness that only comes from doing something different before most people are even awake. It felt like we had squeezed two days into one morning.

Dubai Run is free, inclusive and almost impossible not to enjoy. The city turns into a running track for a few hours, with routes that pass some of its best-known landmarks. More than that, it has become one of those days when Dubai feels unusually connected. Families come together, friends make plans, and strangers share the same space without hesitation.

For a first-timer like me, it was enough to understand why people return every year. I walked in curious and walked out knowing I would sign up again. And now that I’ve experienced it, I probably won’t miss it anymore.