Heat no excuse at Dubai's Mallathon: Creative solution for summer exercise

The city has turned its shopping malls into indoor walking and jogging tracks every morning to encourage people not to give up on exercise during the scorching summer months - an idea worth emulating

Trust Dubai to come up with such a simple  — yet fabulous — idea. A mallathon. What? 

Well, the mallathon is a fun and inspiring new initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed to help people in Dubai stay active and healthy — even during the torrid hot summer months. The idea, as said earlier, is simple: Turn big shopping malls across Dubai into safe, indoor walking and jogging tracks every morning throughout August. It’s free for everyone to join, and part of Dubai’s bigger goal to build a happier, healthier community. Whether you’re young or old, a fitness fan, or just getting started, the Dubai Mallathon makes it easy to get moving and feel good — one step at a time. Currently in full swing, the exercise programme turns some of the city’s most famous shopping centres into early-morning fitness arenas from 7:00 to 10:00 am throughout August. 

With summer temperatures hovering in the high 40s, sometimes even nudging the 50s, even the most dedicated fitness enthusiasts usually struggle to stay active outdoors. But inside the airconditioned interiors of participating malls, including Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Hills Mall and more, participants can now walk, jog or run comfortably before shops up their shutters to transact business for the day. 

The Dubai Mallathon is a collaborative initiative led by the Dubai Sports Council, in partnership with Dubai Economy and Tourism, the Community Development Authority, and officially sponsored by the UAE Ministry of Defence. The mallathon supports key national priorities, including the Year of Community campaign, Dubai Social Agenda, and the Dubai Quality of Life Strategy — all aimed at fostering healthier, more connected communities across the city. And the local community has responded with much enthusiasm — about 500 enthusiasts turn up every morning. Better still, the mallathon is fast becoming a team-spirit-fostering event for corporations, who arrive at dawn in large groups, wearing company-themed tees and carrying branded sippers! 

A mallathon may be a new concept, but the term “mall rat” has been part of popular lingo since the 1980s. “Mall rat” is a slang term, primarily used in the US and South Africa, to describe a young person who frequently spends time in shopping malls, often with friends, as a social activity. It can also imply aimless wandering or loitering. The concept centres on the social aspect of malls as gathering places for young people, particularly adolescents. While not always negative, the term sometimes suggests that the individual spends excessive time in the mall without a specific purpose, creating a perception of aimlessness or lack of productivity. The term became more widely used in the early 1980s, reflecting a shift in social spaces and the growing popularity of shopping malls as leisure destinations for young people. 

Inspired by the youngsters, older cohorts followed. In the US and Europe, they started to utilise shopping malls as a convenient and safe space for exercise during the winter months. Malls, after all, provide a temperature-controlled environment, free from the challenges of cold, icy, or snowy conditions outdoors. This allowed seniors to maintain their physical activity levels, improve cardiovascular health, and enhance joint flexibility in a comfortable setting. Malls are easily accessible and offer ample parking, making them a convenient option for seniors. Some malls even started opening early specifically for senior walkers. Malls, seniors soon discovered, offered opportunities for other low-impact exercises like stair climbing and the many benches around the mall afforded easy resting spaces. The smooth, even surfaces of mall floors also minimised the risk of falls for older folks. Last but not the least, the malls had restrooms, which senior citizens found super-useful.

 

Back to Dubai. Whatever Dubai does, Dubai does with style and panache. And technology. Robotic humanoids have been introduced as part of the mallathon promotion — and they race, and out-race the runners adding to the fun every morning.

 

Every new idea is bound to have its share of critics. Of course, criticism within Dubai, understandably, is muted, but there are still voices on social media that are expressing dissent. Pure optics, they say. The nay-sayers are best ignored. The mallathon is a good idea, simple in both thought and execution. Dubai is really hot in summers — and that makes any kind of physical or sporting activity outdoors practically un-doable. The mallathon has made life so much better, and easier, for fitness-conscious locals. It is an idea worth applauding, and emulating.

 

The author is chairman of Rediffusion