Dubai Holding Calls for Emiratis to Enter Dubai Marathon 2020 in New National Pride Campaign ‘#My City_My Race’

Dubai Holding is continuing to champion UAE National participation in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon with the launch of its 2020 campaign ‘#My City_My Race’ to encourage Emiratis to join Dubai’s official marathon.  As part of Dubai Holding’s ongoing commitment to community wellness and fostering Emirati pride, the campaign calls for male and female Emiratis with different fitness levels to take part in the city’s signature fitness event.   

To encourage record numbers of UAE National participation in the 2020 edition, Dubai Holding calls on all Emirati running enthusiasts as well as the country’s professional athletes and elite runners to take part in the 10km, 42km races and the Wheel Chair marathon for people of determination for a chance to win a total prize fund of 86,000 AED distributed across the top three male and female winners for the three categories.

Khalid Al Malik, Managing Director of Dubai Holding, said: “This campaign is part of our ongoing commitment to increase involvement of the Emirati youth and community in sports and wellness initiatives across the UAE in line with the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. A vision that strives to demonstrate the nation’s outstanding success in every sector, with sports as a key area of focus.”

Malik, continued: “Through our ‘#My City_My Race’ campaign, we are calling on Emiratis to take pride in participating in the Dubai Marathon 10km, 42km and Wheel Chair races which will see them recognised for their sporting accomplishments in an event with global stature through the ‘UAE National Prize’ Category by Dubai Holding. We hope that we will not only break the record for Emirati participation in the race but one day also break the marathon record with the first-ever Emirati overall marathon winner – a historic achievement we look forward to.”
On this occasion, HE Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council, said:

“The Dubai Marathon is one of the biggest testimonials of tolerance and diversity in Dubai, with more than 35,000 participants taking part every year. It is the biggest mass-participation sports event in this part of the world, with thousands of Emiratis and expatriates taking part. This year, we are hoping to see an even greater participation from the UAE Nationals, both men and women of all athletic levels as we urge them to join #MyCity_MyRace campaign by Dubai Holding during this Marathon”

His Excellency added: “In fact, I would like to challenge them to come out and experience one of the fastest growing marathons in the world and test their limits of endurance. Let us bring forward our National spirit and join in this yearly fun-filled and exciting event and be at the start line in bigger numbers.”

As a long-standing partner and proud supporter of this world class sporting event, Dubai Holding has been the largest corporate team participating in Dubai Marathon since the inception of the company’s Corporate Wellness Programme which was founded in 2007. Dubai Holding holds a record of 3,500 of its employees having participated in the 2018 edition across the group.  

Peter Connerton, Dubai Marathon, Event Director, said: “Dubai Holding has been a key supporter of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for many years, and we are always honoured to have them involved with the Middle East’s only IAAF Gold Label Marathon. The 2020 edition will be the 21^st international marathon to be held in Dubai and since those early days more than 250,000 runners have taken to the streets of the city – last year we had 145 different nationalities in the field, and we look forward to another memorable event as we step into a new decade.”

The marathon’s upcoming edition is set to take place on Friday, 24 January 2020.