A long-distance endurance athlete who aims to run down every road in Dubai has discovered hidden gems and a side of the emirate rarely seen by tourists.
Yasmine Salaam, 51, a single mother, began her challenge in November 2018. Three years on, the finishing line remains elusive as Dubai continues to grow.
With thousands of kilometres already under her belt, Ms Salaam, who is Lebanese, hopes to complete her monumental task within the next two years. But as Dubai’s urban plans expand, the timeline could extend even further.
Being a woman running these streets alone at all times of day and night and being safe is not something you can do in many other places
Yasmine Salaam
What began as a novel way to train for marathons, inspired by American Rickey Gates who ran every road in San Francisco in a similar challenge, has become an odyssey as she discovers hidden corners of the city.
“Dubai is a huge metropolis and can compare with any other big city like Hong Kong, London, New York or Paris,” said Ms Salaam, who lives near the Dubai International Financial Centre.
“It is that big and has the huge variety of communities seen in those cities.
“Dubai is more than just the boulevards of Burj Khalifa. The diversity and security I’ve felt have been highlights so far.
“Being a woman running these streets alone at all times of day and night and being safe is not something you can do in many other places.”
Ms Salaam began her adventure during the 2018 Dubai Fitness Challenge.
She uses an app called CityStrides to track streets she has run, rather than the total kilometres covered.
When she turned 50 in 2021, she ran 50km from Mirdif to Khawaneej to celebrate the landmark.
More than halfway through challenge
The only rules of her challenge are to stay away from major highways where it is dangerous for pedestrians, and to run every route mapped out by the Roads and Transport Authority.
So far, Ms Salaam has run across almost 60 per cent of the city’s streets.
“It is difficult as communities are growing or new ones are being built so I have to keep going,” she said.
Her longest daily run is about 30km, and the shortest is around 8km.
Running continues through the summer, albeit in lower mileage.
In the next four months, she expects to cover about 10 per cent of the city’s streets.
The ultra-endurance runner chooses to run in the early hours of the morning or late at night, particularly during the hot summer months, as there are fewer cars.
“People are either going to work, or coming home from a night shift,” she said.
“The most interesting part is seeing how people go about their lives.
“They can be construction workers, truck drivers and security guards — or sometimes just white collar workers and women, like hotel workers.
“It is definitely an eye-opener to see how Dubai works.”
Ms Salaam said her travels so far are a world away from the glitzy veneer portrayed in recent documentaries on Dubai.
“My journey is almost like an urban study of a modern city.”
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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