START TRAINING, SPARTAN – Sign up for the second annual XDubai Spartan Women’s Race on October 27, the first of the fast-growing local Spartan season and held during the Dubai Fitness Challenge at Jebel Ali Racecourse. Some 2,000 women are expected for the event, which features a 5km sprint with 20 obstacles and a 13km “Super” with 25 obstacles over tougher terrain. There are also free training sessions on September 22 and 29, from 9am, at Dubai Sports City Indoor Football Pitch. From Dh290. Go to spartanarabia.com for details and to register.
RESCUE YOURSELF A PURRING PET – Head to The Pet Shop or the Dubai Garden Center Friday, September 21, from 11am-6pm (or the Dubai Garden Center in Al Quoz every Friday, from 11am-5pm) and give a spayed or neutered and vaccinated cat or kitten their forever home courtesy of Kittysnip, the Dubai-based animal welfare group.
PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE, IT’S HURTING YOU – According to a new survey by Marie Claire in the UK, one in five women have a 192-a-day habit. Of doing what, you ask? Checking their smartphone. The topic is the subject of British journalist Katherine Ormerod’s new book, Social Media Is Ruining Your Life. The title of her book – a bit ironically – has become a hashtag and a movement to more realistic portrayals of life online, while Marie Claire’s editors have called for a “#screenbreak”. So take some.
REGISTER TO TAKE ON AN OBSTACLE COURSE IN AN INFLATABLE SUIT – The videos making the social media rounds tell only part of the story: humans in puffy T-Rex and sumo suits wobbling around a field. What we do know is that the Inflatathon is coming to Dubai’s Safa Park on November 23, with heats from 8am. It looks like hilarious fun. (It is headed to Abu Dhabi sometime in 2019.) theinflatathon.com.
LEARN THE ART OF TATREEZ IN DUBAI – This workshop on Palestinian embroidery, or tatreez, will first provide an overview of the symbolism and styles from different regions before 1948, and then move on to the present day. Participants will learn the basic cross-stitch and move on to stitching a Palestinian motif. Dh267; Tashkeel Nad Al Sheba, 10am-3pm; Saturday, September 29.
GET OUTSIDE AND WALK – As the temperatures fall across the UAE, news hits of yet another study proclaiming the benefits of the simple walk outside. This one, conducted by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and published in the journal Neurology, found that just 35 minutes per day of walking could lead to less severe strokes.
GET YOUR YOGA ON FOR FREE IN DUBAI – Classes that are normally Dh85, for free? That’s what is happening at Fairmont, The Palm until September 30. Every Monday and Wednesday at 9.30am and Sunday and Tuesday at 7pm, teacher Melanie Swan will guide students through a vinyasa flow designed to suit all levels. Best you book in advance. See beyourbestdxb.com. Call 04 4573330 or email [email protected].
Featured photo courtesy Spartan Arabia
