A Dubai resident will forgo sleep and rest to cycle for 24 hours around the Al Qudra Cycle Track in Dubai in an attempt to raise awareness of motor neuron disease.
Sandy Stirling, 50, this year created the MND24 global challenge in memory of his father who died of the disease in March 2019.
Mr Stirling will be cycling with six friends in Dubai on March 11 from 6pm, while people around the world are invited to create their own 24-hour challenge throughout the month to raise awareness and funds for the cause.
MND is a debilitating illness that affects a person’s ability to move, talk and breathe, and worsens over time as the motor neurons that carry messages from the brain to the muscles fail. The rare condition, which affects about 420,000 people worldwide, can lead to early paralysis and death.
The idea is not only to create awareness about MND but promote mental wellness as well
Sandy Stirling
“The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge did a lot to raise the profile of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is a form of MND," said Mr Stirling, who has lived in the UAE for 14 years and works as a business development manager for Al Tayer Stocks.
"However, MND requires ongoing attention so that a cure can be found and more people can be helped.
“My father, who was a farmer in Scotland, always said to me, 'don’t tell someone to do something on the farm that you can’t do yourself'.
"I’m hoping my endeavour inspires others to challenge themselves and also help raise the much-needed awareness for the disease.”
Mr Stirling, a former rugby player from Scotland, only took up cycling as a sport in 2019 when he was approached by a group to bike 110 kilometres around Cape Town, South Africa, in honour of a friend who died of malaria.
He decided to turn this newfound passion into an awareness campaign with a solo 12-hour cycling challenge in 2021 and had 130 people come out to support him on the day. This year he wanted to do a 24-hour challenge to test his limits.
“I also wanted to encourage people from all over the world to participate in their own way to make this a global movement,” Mr Stirling said.
Global challenge
Since its launch, the challenge has expanded to 19 countries, including the UK, US, Cuba, Germany, France, South Africa and Australia, with people signing up to perform any activity of their choice under the “24” theme.
They can complete 24-hour solo or relay challenges, cover 24 miles (38.6km) in an endurance activity or join a virtual race.
Mr Stirling said participants have chosen a range of activities, such as strenuous sports like cycling, rugby, surfing and cricket, a therapeutic task of a silence challenge, organising performances with a 24-hour salsa routine and a music concert.
Along with taking up the challenge, participants can also raise funds to support MND research and support their preferred registered charities through legal channels in their respective countries.
“I initially wanted this to be a sports challenge but realised that it would exclude a lot of people who are not sporty but want to do something for the cause," he said.
"The idea is not only to create awareness about MND but promote mental wellness as well. So, if someone finds happiness in organising a 24-hour movie marathon while also bringing attention to the cause, then that achieves our goal.”
Local support
In Dubai, residents can sign up as individuals or teams to join Mr Stirling and his group during the challenge. They can embark on the full challenge or commit to a certain number of hours to be part of the peloton.
Riders will break for a few minutes after completing every 50km of the cycle track loop to eat and regroup.
“The group who will be doing all 24 hours with me are just friends who believe in what I’m doing and want to support. But since cycling has taken off in a big way in the UAE, I’m expecting a lot of people to show an interest in this event,” Mr Stirling said.
“When people register, they can get in touch with us and indicate their preferred riding times and the number of hours that they want to commit.
“The idea is to make sure everyone is safe and having fun, so we will be managing the size of the peloton and every group will be led by experienced and strong riders in the front.”
Training for the challenge
Mr Stirling has been spending a significant part of his week on the Al Qudra Cycle Track in the lead-up to the challenge, understanding his fatigue levels and devising his food strategy.
“I’ve been training 15 to 18 hours a week and it has been intense. Between work, my family commitments and the launch of my family-owned brand in the UAE soon, this has been quite a monumental undertaking, but also very rewarding,” said the father of a 4-year-old boy who will be at the finish line on the day.
“Most people that I have shared my desire with think I am crazy for doing something like this. Even my family thinks I’m crazy. In the end, if it even makes a small difference, it’ll all be worth it.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
Company%20profile
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The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
