Climb the stairway to fitness at the 12th Vertical Marathon

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) 12th edition of vertical marathon raises dh280000 for diabetes research

Pleasant weather 1334 stairs and 265 metres — friday morning saw that time of the year again when over 150 rubber-soled enthusiasts set out to improve their cardiovascular fitness by climbing 52 flights of stairs.

In its 12th year the vertical marathon is a 265-metre-high challenge held at jumeriah emirates towers. people arrived even earlier than 7am to warm up and get into the groove of the event.

Participants climbing the stairs to the top of jumeirah emirates towers in dubai as part of the vertical marathon. — kt photo by shihab

The fastest female runner vicki matheson reached the top in 12.36 minutes on friday and the winning male runner paul drury climbed in 9.52 minutes.

This year the vertical marathon was held in aid of the al jalila foundation and proceeds of the event were pledged to diabetes research. as much as dh280000 was raised on friday the highest funds raised in the 12-year history of the vertical marathon.



Benefits of climbing stairs

Stair climbing requires 8-9 times more energy expenditure than sitting and about 7 times more energy than taking a lift

You burn about 0.1 calory for every step you climb so you burn roughly a calorie for every 10 upward steps

You also burn calories going down. every stair descended burns about 0.05 calories so you burn 1 calorie for every 20 steps down

Just 7 minutes of stair climbing a day has been estimated to cut more than half the risk of a heart attack over 10 years

The heavier you are the more calories you burn when climbing stairs

(source: internet)



Further reinforcing its support for the event and the cause dubai holding saw teams from its companies — jumeirah group dubai properties group and tecom investments — participate in the race as part of its corporate wellness programme. the idea was to improve levels of employee fitness.

Ahmad bin byat chief executive officer of dubai holding said “the funds raised during the event’s 12th edition today are for al jalila foundation’s efforts to combat diabetes through medical research.”

Abdulkareem sultan al olama chief executive officer of al jalila foundation said “we are honoured to have been selected as the charity partner for the dubai holding vertical marathon. our collaboration is in line with our medical research strategy which focuses on five health issues: diabetes cancer cardiovascular diseases obesity and mental health which can be prevented in part by increased sports activity. we look forward to a successful event and to building a healthier nation together.”

The prizes for the winners provided by jumeirah emirates towers included hotel stays gourmet meals spa vouchers beach passes and vouchers to the wild wadi waterpark.

Nivriti?khaleejtimes.com