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‘Pink Taxi Runner’ aims to turn every Dubai road purple

Yasmine Salaam, 52, is saving The Palm for last on quest to cover all of the city’s streets

- NICK WEBSTER

After about five years of pounding the streets of Dubai, the end is in sight for a passionate marathon runner who aims to cover every metre of road in the city.

From the luxury homes of Emirates Hills to the industrial zones of Al Quoz, a journey of discovery that began in 2018 is drawing to a close for Yasmine Salaam, 52.

On Sunday morning, an 8km run meant Deira Islands was the latest area to be chalked off, following a 16km run around Al Aweer on Friday.

It has meant Ms Salaam has completed 98.9 per cent of her goal, according to the map that tracks her progress and an app on which the streets she has completed turn purple.

“I am all over the map now, trying to finish off areas and improve my coverage – I’m a perfection­ist,” said Ms Salaam, who goes by the name of Pink Taxi Runner on social media, where she documents her progress.

“The most interestin­g thing has been the variety of environmen­ts, from residentia­l, industrial, rural, in the mountains and by the sea.

“Dubai is almost like its own country, with so many different cultures and communitie­s.

“My project is not just about informing people of the UAE but the world’s running community that is doing similar things in other countries.

“People are in tune with their communitie­s, and hopefully I have inspired others to get out there and run.”

Ms Salaam’s personal best for a full marathon is four hours, 12 minutes, recorded in Geneva, Switzerlan­d.

She runs four days a week and during Ramadan was out pounding the streets every day at iftar.

Initially, the challenge was due to take her into next year, but she now expects to finish the map by October, in time for the Dubai Fitness Challenge.

She has run about 1,000km every year and has pounded her way through several pairs of running shoes, which are changed every six months.

A coach has been keeping tabs on Ms Salaam for the past 12 years, helping to keep her training varied and injury-free.

While a running app tracks her progress, she also takes photos of street signs along her routes to make a daily diary of her efforts.

A favourite route in the city is a set of streets with spaces for homes yet to be built in Jebel Ali Hills, giving her a private running ground.

Other communitie­s have been left deserted after housing projects were cancelled.

“I have seen an array of cultural and socioecono­mic experience­s, running through depot centres and communitie­s of truck drivers, taxi drivers, camel herders and even police compounds,” she said.

“Anyone can speak to me about Dubai and where they live or work and I can relate to them – I know it.

“People even ask me for real estate advice on where to move to as I know what these communitie­s are like.

“No matter what time of day or night that I run, I feel safe – even in neighbourh­oods that are exclusivel­y men.

“I have not run on The Palm Jumeirah yet. I am keeping that for last.

“Some people run for a good cause or for a charity, I run because I am part of Dubai.

“I have lived here all my life and I feel part of this dynamic city.”

A favourite route is a set of streets with homes yet to be built in Jebel Ali Hills, giving her a private running ground

 ?? Yasmine Salaam ?? Yasmine Salaam says she runs because she is part of the ‘dynamic city’ of Dubai
Yasmine Salaam Yasmine Salaam says she runs because she is part of the ‘dynamic city’ of Dubai

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