Positive energy, early morning run: Residents overwhelmed by magic of Dubai Marathon

The 23rd Dubai Marathon finished excitingly last Sunday. Ethiopian newcomers Addisu Gobena and Tigist Ketema won the main races.

Many people living in the UAE joined in too, enjoying the fun of street racing.
One of them was Ion Gonzaga, a 40-year-old Filipino who lives in Dubai. He feels very lucky to be a part of this city.

read more: ALL THE SPORTS EVENTS IN DUBAI IN 2024

“Dubai has always led by example when it comes to inspiring people to lead a healthy lifestyle,” Gonzaga, who took part in the 10 km race, told the

_______________________________________________________________________________________
🔍 Read More: Ready to elevate your fitness journey? Dive deeper with our BMI Calculator, BMR Calculator, TDEE Calculator, and Body Fat Calculator. Uncover the science behind your health!
_______________________________________________________________________________________

“One of the best examples is the Dubai Fitness Challenge. You can see the impact. Compared to other countries, Dubai has taken it to a high level.

This city is the front-runner in terms of modelling this.”

Gonzaga then revealed what drew him to road racing.

“I run quite a lot to keep myself fit.

I had a back problem and it got better after I started running,” said Gonzaga who completed his third 10 km run at the Dubai Marathon.

“Not just psychically, it also helps you mentally. It’s good for your mental discipline which helps you a lot in all areas of life.”

Meanwhile, Indian expat Utpal Baruah was overwhelmed by the magic of the occasion.

“This was my first time in this race. Getting there in the morning and standing amid thousands of people, it was an out-of-the-world feeling,” said Baruah who took part in the 10 km run.

“It’s so full of energy and so refreshing to see thousands of people brimming with positivity.”

Baruah took to running only three months ago, but now he can’t stop it for anything.

“It’s very challenging at the initial stage, but once you get the heck of it, it becomes very addictive and very inspiring,” he says.

“And every day you are challenging yourself. It impacts your regular lifestyle also. You become motivated in everything you do.”

Unlike Baruah, British expat Chris May is a Dubai Marathon veteran who participated in it for the 18th time on Sunday.

But this time it was a family affair for May, the CEO of Golf Dubai.

“I did the 10 km with my two daughters (Jodie and Gracie) for the first time. It was quite funny looking at the pictures, we did the four km together in 2014.

And then 10 years later we did the 10 km together,” he said.

“It was good, the girls did well. Jodie beat me by four minutes. She finished it in 48 minutes, I took 52 minutes and Gracie was one hour and one minute.”

May then doffed his hat to the organisers for delivering another wonderful event.

“It was one of the best-organised events. It was really well done,” he said.

Source: msn

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.