The National logo, global utilities Primary navigation main content Sophia Money-Coutts The National’s correspondent Sophia Money-Coutts will compete in Dubai’s vertical marathon atthe Jumeirah
Emirates Tower in Dubai on Friday. Picture, if you will, a reverse fire drill. That is what a vertical marathon looks like instead of sensibly walking down the stairs, those involved scramble up them. The only equipment you need is a decent pair of trainers . It’s a relatively new phenomenon, a form of intense exercise that really took off in cities across the world in the 1990s. The longest, most gruelling race among them took place earlier this month in the Taipei 101 tower (509 metres high), where hundreds made their way up 2,046 steps in competition for the winner’s cash prize of $6,100 (Dh22,500). Other notable races are up the Empire State Building in New York, The CN Tower Climb in Toronto (strictly no iPods allowed) and one in South East Asia’s tallest hotel, the Swissôtel in Singapore, where participants are told that they’re more than welcome to “hold on to the railing and take a rest”. Mulani has so far stumped up the Dh500 minimum required to register for the race himself, but he plans to chase up family and friends through e-mails this week to try and raise more. “The most I’ve raised for previous vertical marathons was Dh1,100, more still for other Doctors Without Borders events,” he says, but adds that raising money is harder now because people have less money to spare. “It will be more challenging this year, but I can’t blame them,” he says resignedly.
Mulani is a pro with this race now. Beside the other Doctors Without Borders events, such as beach walks and the annual 1.4-km swim around the Burj Al Arab, he has completed the ascent three times previously, once in the competitive heat, twice in the non-competitive one. “The first time, I did it in 12 and a half minutes,” he says. “Now I’m going to walk up, meet people and enjoy it. Some people race, and then after five floors you see them sitting down because it’s a marathon, not a 100-metre dash. You have to keep your pace consistently. ”