SCORCHING HEAT LEADS TO MALLATHON IN DUBAI
Summer in Dubai is no joke, especially when there’s a heatwave and temperatures reach around 50 degrees Celsius.
The unbearable heat makes it impossible to exercise outside during August, so the Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, along with a few shopping centres in the city, have made a plan.
Throughout August, participants wearing Dubai Mallathon shirts are given access to nine shopping centres from 07:00 to 10:00 every day.
All shops are closed, so runners or walkers don’t have to compete with shoppers.
Weekends are filled with organised 2.5 km, 5 km, and 10 km races with podium presentations and prizes included.
Some of the shopping centres have even gone so far as to get electric bikes that people can ride in order to power blenders to make healthy smoothies.
The obesity rate in the country is climbing, and authorities are doing what they can to encourage locals to exercise more.
According to a study published by The Lancer in March, a staggering 94% of United Arab Emirates males would be overweight or obese by 2050, the highest in the world.
Image credit: GymNation