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The Palm Jumeirah will take in Stage 2 of the run Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) has announced an exclusive new event for ladies — a four-part Dubai Women’s Running Challenge — that will take participants to four unique locations across the emirate.

Organised in collaboration with Dubai Municipality under the slogan ‘It is good to compete in the World’s Coolest Winter’, Stage One of the Challenge will take place at the Dubai Safari Park on January 16.

The opening stage is meant to give participants an unforgettable experience as they run past lions, giraffes and many other exotic animals.

Stage Two will take place at The Palm Jumeirah on January 23, while Stage Three, which will be a night race starting at 9pm, will take the ladies to Dubai Garden Glow on January 28.

The Challenge will then wind up at Al Seef on February 6, allowing participants to soak in the atmosphere of the cultural and historic district of Dubai.

Registrations are now open now for all four stages of the Challenge on the Hopasports website, with participants having an options to choose from three distances, namely the 10km, 5km or the 2.5km.

Participants in the 10km run will be divided into five age groups starting from the juniors from 12 to 17 years and moving up to the 18-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years and the veterans 60-99 years categories.

Participants in the 5km race will be divided into two age groups, namely the 12-17 years junior category and the 18-99 years senior category. In the 2.5km race, there will be four age groups, namely from 5-9 years, 10-14 years, 15-17 years and 18-99 years.

To encourage and honour participants, the DSC has designed a unique set of medals for the Dubai Women’s Running Challenge. The medals for each stage have been designed to represent the landscape of that particular stage and, when put together, the four medals will spell ‘Dubai’.

The Dubai Women’s Running Challenge joins a growing list of initiatives and events launched by DSC to promote sports and a physically active lifestyle among all segments of the community, especially among women and children. The Challenge will be a boost for women of different age and nationalities, who are looking for such events to satiate their competitive urges.

The Challenge also comes as part of DSC’s strategic objective of empowering women, and promoting sports and physical activity among women through such competitions.