‘The Walk’ stretches 3.2km in each direction from Business Bay to Jumeirah and alongside Safa Park – and will soon connect with the popular Jumeirah Beach running track – giving runners a 7km-long continuous route.
At present, the running track isn’t complete but the paths in place are absolutely ideal to run along for the time being.
The beauty of Dubai’s newest creation is that it is easily accessible. As a runner, your best bet is to take the metro to Business Bay station.
Here, you can take the Sheikh Zayed Road pedestrian path towards Habtoor City (close to the W Hotel, the Westin and St. Regis Dubai) and take an elevator directly down to the canal.
Equally and probably more easily, the canal’s only a short two-minute jog from the metro itself when you come out of the exit Jumeirah-side.
The first thing that hits you on the route is the stunning view of Downtown.
And while the next thing you notice will probably be the ongoing construction work, the boardwalk is ready for pedestrians and runners to use.
Each of the bridges over Sheikh Zayed Road are open for business as are both the Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Beach Road constructions – offering great running views of the canal and cityscape.
A further two more are still being constructed.
For runners, it is an ingenious route and (eventually straight) access point through to the Jumeirah beaches – and to Jumeirah Beach Road – a key part of the 2017 Dubai Marathon route.
If you’re partaking in that race, it’s a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with the location and it can give you a mental boost knowing the roads and landmarks you’ll be running past and need to conquer.
In fact, already, hundreds of runners are running the route. Friday morning (November 25) being a case in point as many people were up bright and early for a sunrise run.
When the whole area is complete, with new residential buildings, state-of-the-art technology benefiting pedestrians, a new mall and Jumeirah Beach Park – then it will be one of the best all-encompassing experiences.
I’ll be running the route a lot over the next few weeks and look forward to seeing the structures get closer and closer to completion every time.