Dawn runners light-up early morning Dubai

Kara Martin 07:53 10/12/2014
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  • Cool Runnings: Nike+ Run Club’s last meet took place in Downtown Dubai

    I’m a casual, bordering on lazy, runner personally – a burning desire to partake in any races in the season only comes to me once or twice a year – so I have never bothered to try to commit to club meets around town.

    – Brahim Slimani wins Dubai Creek Striders Half Marathon

    A haphazard work schedule too just won’t allow it.

    But when my treadmill routine in the lead-up to all the winter events started to get a bit boring, I decided to mix things up. I sought the help of a support system, and checked out Tom Woolf and crew for a dawn run, one of the Nike+ Run Club’s weekly meets at to-be-determined locations across Dubai.

    Turns out there are some advantages to being up before the sun. Nike Middle East decided to introduce ‘Dawn Runners’ last
    month as a form of training support for those preparing for the popular We Run DXB 10K on December 19, and despite its 5am start, it appears as if the meet-up was much-needed as there was a huge turnout for thefirst one.

    Wearing their brightest, tightest Nike gear, and stretching while thumbing through synced up iPods, some 40 runners stormed Downtown Dubai in complete darkness and just lit it up.

    As for me, I still had eyeliner on from the night before and admit to initially thinking then and there that this was all a bit too serious for me, watching all the bright and bushy-tailed expertly limber up around me while I craved a can of Coke.

    But then Coach Tom (if coffee was a person…) lassoed everyone in for a vibrant warm-up, and his booming voice and peppy attitude quickly turned mine around.

    We set off on a very scenic 6km jog meandering through the hip modern and traditional architecture of Downtown, across quaint bridges connecting squares of funky cafes, over canals glistening in the moonlight, with the larger than life Burj Khalifa taking us all in from above.

    With all that there was to take in, not all of us were quick to finish and I shared ‘the back of the bus’ with some friendly ladies new to running and we chatted while we huffed along.

    Then in no time at all, it seemed, we saw the glowing neon Nike swoosh in the distance and heard applause on arrival.

    Nike+ Run Club meets are a bit special as they always include extras, like breakfasts, or talks and tips from Tom, who is always so keen to stick around and advise the curious. Plus you get to have a look at all the brand’s cool new merchandise.

    But those aside, I think the biggest perk of the morning was that I suddenly had the whole rest of the day to myself, my fitness for the next 24 hours was already taken care of, and I was buzzing with energy to get things done, which I did much quicker resulting in an early night and more rest than I’m used to. So this is how early birds do it!

    Think you’re up for rising to the challenge?

    The last of the Dawn Runners series before We Run DXB 10K next weekend, is this Friday, December 12, while a few evening meets are regularly held during the week.

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