850 beat Dubai heat to raise money for spinal injuries cause

Under peak afternoon temperatures compounded with intense heat radiating from the dark tarmac of the Dubai Autodrome, runners set off on a 100-kilometre course.

Competitors Lynn Middleton, left, and Nada Zabaneh wind down after taking part in the Wings For Life World Race for spinal cord research held at Dubai Autodrome. The challenging event drew nearly 900 Show more

DUBAI // About 850 runners endured scorching temperatures to raise money for spinal cord research during Sunday’s Wings for Life run.

“We’re running for those who can’t,” said Angel Marcini, 26, from Dubai, who was participating with two friends.

Under peak afternoon temperatures, recorded by organisers at 37°C, compounded with intense heat radiating from the dark tarmac of the Dubai Autodrome, runners set off on a 100-kilometre course that snaked its way through the racecourse and out on to Al Qudra Street.

Thirty minutes later, a pursuit car departed, gradually increasing its speed.

Runners were eliminated from the race as the car passed and they returned to the jovial atmosphere of race headquarters, where cold water was plentiful and a DJ played.

Omani long-distance runner Sami Al Saidi finished as the number one male, running 45 kilometres.

Katie Sloane from the UK was top among female runners, going 35 kilometres.

Many participants said they were following the mantra of “No excuses”, coined by Wings for Life ambassador Chris Khouri, and refusing to buckle under the heat.

“When you have two perfect legs, you don’t have an excuse,” Ms Marcini said.

Mohammed Aidaros, 30, from Dubai, a running enthusiast, said: “This is my favourite sport. I’ve done so many races in my life. I’ve been injury free for 10 years, so I’m running for people that have these injuries.”

With a goal of raising money for the Wings for Life Foundation – a non-profit spinal cord research foundation – more than 101,000 participants in 35 races in 33 countries were expected to set off at the same time yesterday.

In the UAE, that meant many runners had to make arrangements to skip work.

That was no problem for Lynn Middleton, 49, from the US, and Nada Zabaneh, 38, from Jordan.

“Our company allows us to take eight hours a year for volunteering,” Ms Middleton said.

“I recently reconnected with someone on Facebook who suffered an injury just after we finished high school,” she said. “The race was good timing.”

The race’s organisation was paid for by drinks company Red Bull, allowing all of the money raised to go to research.

Skipping work was also no problem for Jenifer Cretzee, 28, who ran with Kevin Harvey, 24, both from South Africa.

“It was very easy,” she said. “They were very understanding about the event.”

An unofficial trial run in Dubai last year organised by Mr Khouri, a paraplegic who sustained a spinal cord injury six years ago, resulted in 250 runners raising US$20,000 (Dh73,500).

Last year’s global champion, Ethiopia’s Lemawork Ketema, was expected to compete again in Donautal, Austria, where he ran 78.57 kilometres before being caught.