Participants in action during the opening stage of the four-stop Dubai Women’s Running Challenge.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Becky Hayward of the UK and Norway’s Ingrid Feliza Fuglestad topped the overall charts in the 10K and 5K Run, while Shamsa Salim of the UAE was fastest in the 2.5K Run of the opening stage of the four-stop Dubai Women’s Running Challenge, which attracted more than 300 enthusiasts to Dubai Safari Park on a foggy Saturday morning.

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In the 2.5km Run, Emirati Shamsa Salim blitzed through the course with a time of nine minutes and 15 seconds, finishing three minutes and 22 seconds ahead of Oman’s Khlood Al Saadi (12:37) in the overall rankings, while Analyn Fuglestad (13:18) of Norway was third, a further 41 seconds behind.

Hayward, meanwhile, took the overall honours in the 10km run with a time of 47:28, finishing a minute and 37 seconds ahead of Helen Boland of Ireland (49:05), while Kahli Johnson of the UK was third overall with a time of 49:10.

In the 5km Run, Ingrid Feliza Fuglestad was fastest with a time of 22:38, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Egypt’s Joud Dabous (22:55), while Louise MacGregor (24:37) of the UK came in third.

Organised in collaboration with Dubai Municipality under the slogan “It is good to compete in the World’s Coolest Winter”, Stage 1 one of the Challenge provided the participants with an unforgettable experience as they ran past lions, giraffes and many other exotic animals on a chilly morning.

Participants in action during the opening stage of the four-stop Dubai Women’s Running Challenge.

“We are so excited to have run this race in the Dubai Safari Park,” said Elizabeth Manrique, who took part with her daughter Lucia Ferris Manrique. “I have just done the 5km and Lucia has done the 2.5km. The race is absolutely fantastic. We saw lions, we saw elephants, and we saw hyenas. We absolutely loved it.” The next stage of the Challenge will take place on Jan.23 at another unique location, the Palm Jumeirah, while Stage 3, which will be a night race starting at 9pm, will take the ladies to Dubai Garden Glow on January 28. The Challenge will then wind up on February 6 at Al Seef, allowing participants to soak in the atmosphere in what is the cultural and historic district of Dubai.