Dubai - The race - the only official vertical run in the Middle East, is the world's 5th highest skyscraper race.
Published: Sat 26 Oct 2019, 5:55 PM
As the 30x30 Dubai Fitness Challenge enters its second week, residents can be seen pushing limits and raising the bar by not only increasing the intensity of workouts but by also breaking world records along the way. On Friday around 500 fitness enthusiasts raced their way up the the Jumeirah Emirates Towers climbing 52 floors and setting a record in the number of participation in the vertical race history of the Dubai Holding SkyRun.
The race - the only official vertical run in the Middle East, is the world's 5th highest skyscraper race. It saw participants, both young and old, run up the 1,334 steps of the towers. Runners from as many as 40 different nationalities -- with the youngest being 16 and the oldest 75 years of age took part in the 16th edition of the charitable race.
Giovanni Potenza of Italy, 75, completed the race three times consecutively, setting a new record in the race's history. He completed his first lap in 12 minutes and 19 seconds, his second lap in 13 minutes and 32 seconds and his last lap in 13 minutes and 10 seconds, averaging 13 minutes overall. Hiroko Shinzato of Japan, a 75 years old woman, completed the race in 17 minutes and 13 seconds.
A new record was set by 34-year-old Polish runner Piotr Lobodzinski, one of the 18 international elite runners who flew all the way from Poland to participate and support the race. He managed to climb the 52 floors of the iconic Jumeirah Emirates Towers in just six minutes and 55 seconds, an improvement of 14 seconds from his time (7 minutes and 9 seconds) in the last edition.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dubai resident Gretta Beckett, who took 12 minutes to cover the 265 metre high tower, said: "It was an amazing energy we experienced this morning at the Dubai Holding Sky Run as people from all different age groups and backgrounds came together for the run. It was inspiring to see youngsters, senior citizens and even people of determination compete with professional runners and give out a message that if they can, then surely everyone can take out just 30 minutes of their time for physical activity. I believe that if you have time for social media, then surely you can take out time for exercise too."
Coming to Dubai on her maiden trip, UK national Sarah Frost said she participated in the Sky Run as part of her vertical race tour around the world. "I am glad to be in Dubai at the time of the 30x30 fitness challenge as this is a great way to also create awareness on the stair training regime as all you need to do here is just walk up the stairs and you have an incredible workout done. This is suitable for people who have injuries and cannot run, I have the same issue, which is why I promote stair training as it is much easier on your joints and has a less impact than running. It is a brilliant form of cardio workout and since it is intense."
This time the Sky Run saw the participation of 27 corporate teams from key companies as well as governmental and semi-governmental organizations including the Prime Minister's Office of Dubai, Dubai Health Authority, Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Du and RAK Bank. The event was held in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, International SkyRunning Federation, Vertical World Circuit, Jumeirah Group and Talise Fitness.
During the awards ceremony, the winners were announced by Dubai Sports Council's Director of Sports, Khalid Al Awar, who congratulated the winners and awarded the trophies and cash prizes.
saman@khaleejtimes.com
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