Dubai Run takes over Sheikh Zayed Road on Sunday 22 November, free
The free 5km and 10km run starts at 6.30am, and the road reopens to cars at 9am. A record 307,000 people took part last year.
Dubai Run, the biggest day of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, returns to Sheikh Zayed Road on Sunday 22 November. For a few hours one of the busiest roads in the country is closed to cars and handed to runners and walkers, with two routes to choose from, 5km and 10km. It is free and open to all ages and abilities.
The run starts at 6.30am, and runners must finish by 9am, when the road reopens to traffic, The National reported in its guide to this year's challenge. The shorter route suits families and first-timers, and many people walk it with children and pushchairs; the 10km route is for those who want a longer run past the Museum of the Future and the towers of Downtown.
Last year a record 307,000 people took part, the largest turnout since the run began in 2019. It sits near the end of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs from 31 October to 29 November this year, its 10th edition, and asks residents to do 30 minutes of activity every day for 30 days. Dubai Ride already closed the same road for cyclists on 1 November, and the free fitness villages at Kite Beach and Zabeel Park stay open until the end of the challenge.
Registration is required and is free, but this year's details had not been published by the time of writing; in past years sign-up opened on the Dubai Fitness Challenge website and app a few weeks before the run, and each runner collected a bib before the day. Watch dubaifitnesschallenge.com for the opening, and register early, as places and bib collection times are set by the organisers. On the morning, plan to arrive by Metro: roads around Sheikh Zayed Road are closed from the early hours, and parking near the start is limited. Bring water, wear the bib where it can be seen, and check the route map once it is published.