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29 March 2024

Dubai Holding Women's Run aims to attract Europe's elite athletes

Khalfan Belhoul (second left) of Dubai Holdings and Saad Al Mehri (third from left) of UAE Athletics Federation during a press conference to announce title sponsorship of Dubai Women's Run on Tuesday. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Allaam Ousman

Women's sport in the UAE received a major filip with Dubai Holding announcing a five-year Dh5 million sponsorship agreement for the Dubai Women's Run which will mark its fifth anniversary on November 7.

The five-kilometre and 10-km race through Jumeirah will now be known as the Dubai Holding Women’s Run after the investment holding company signed an agreement with the UAE Athletics Federation (UAEAF) to secure title sponsorship of the event.

"This sponsorship aligns with Dubai Holding’s Corporate Wellness Programme, the first-ever Corporate Wellness Programme in the Middle East, which encourages employees to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle," said Khalfan Belhoul representing Dubai Holding at a press conference on Tuesday.

“Dubai Holding is proud of this agreement that comes as the logical next step following the success witnessed with our Dubai Marathon sponsorship. We believe that healthy bodies equal healthy minds and we are fully committed to supporting the community and empowering women through sports. The sponsorship will allow us to achieve this as we work to encourage Dubai citizens and residents live an active, healthy lifestyle, and ultimately enhance the quality of their life,” Ahmad Bin Byat, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Holding, stated in a press release.

An event which began with 1,000 runners in 2010 has now grown into an international event with more than 5,000 participants expected this year, including elite athletes mostly from Europe, according to Ahmad Al Kamali, president of the UAE Athletics Federation.

Al Kamali saw the landmark agreement with a corporate sponsor as a catalyst to improve women's sports in the country.

“We like to see big companies support women’s athletics,” he said. "And this five-year agreement is a big result for the federation and our girls. We can now work and prepare for the 2016 Olympics."

“It was my target five years ago to encourage more women’s sport. We have won gold and silver medals in the Asian, Arab, GCC and South West Asian Championships. I hope women’s athletics here continues to grow and grows even quicker with the support of Dubai Holding,” said Al Kamali who is a Council member of the world athletic governing body, IAAF.

Al Kamali hoped the agreement would help realise his dream of making the Dubai Women’s Run one of the most coveted events in the world.

“We wish and are welcoming everyone to take part,” he said. “My dream is to have more than 20,000 women running in this event so that it can become one of the largest women’s events in the world. If we get over 7,000 participants this year, I don’t see why we can’t surpass 20,000 runners within six or seven years.”

"We are proud of introducing the UAE National Category prizes in 2013 and sponsoring the race’s first-ever prize money. We are pleased to partner with the UAE Athletics Federation and the Dubai Sports Council to support the event, which will provides a platform to empower women of all ages to boost their fitness and physical wellbeing," said Belhoul explaining their vision and corporate objectives associated with the event.

"This agreement comes as a natural step for us, following the growth of our Corporate Wellness programme, and the success witnessed with our Dubai Marathon sponsorship. This is in tandem with Dubai Holding’s commitment to promoting healthy living habits across its employees and wider community," said Belhoul.

"Not only are we encouraging employees to run, but we are encouraging them to run for a cause and raise money in support of Al Jalila Foundation, a great organisation that aims to improve the health of the UAE population by supporting medical treatment, education and research," he said.

"Dubai Women’s Run is an essential cornerstone of Dubai Holding’s Corporate Wellness Programme. Other initiatives include Dubai Marathon, the Dubai Vertical Marathon, Global Corporate Challenge, blood donation drives and sponsored treks and hikes," he added.

Dubai Holding Women’s Run will take place along Umm Sequim Road opposite Madinat Jumeirah and alongside Burj Al Arab.

Jumeirah Group is the official Hospitality Partner and Talise Fitness is the official Fitness Partner.

Registration for the Dubai Holding Women’s Run will start from July 3, 2014.

For regular updates on social media, follow:


Hashtag: #DHWomensRun
Instagram: @DH_Wellness
Twitter: @DH_Wellness
Youtube: DubaiHoldingWellness
Facebook: /WomensRunDubai