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Sean Burgess — Supplied photo
Expat on a mission to cross UAE on foot for kids in Uganda
Abu Dhabi - He will be running and jogging from the Saudi border to Fujairah, taking a 650km route through all seven emirates in seven days.
British expat Sean Burgess has started running in what would be the ‘fastest crossing of the UAE on foot’, aiming to cover all seven emirates in seven days. He is raising funds for UK charity Soft Power Education to help improve the lives of disadvantaged children in Uganda.
His adventure kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. “This challenge has been in planning for upwards of nine months when I first thought about the idea,” Burgess said. With a small support team, he endured the journey from Al Ghuwaifat on the UAE-Saudi Arabia border and covered 110km towards Abu Dhabi by the end of the first day.
“There had been a lot of hard work and delays, mainly due to Covid-19 situation. So, getting to this point, setting up everything and starting from the border was really emotional. The first 30km was a release of tension and excitement that had been building up. I went out way too quickly, but it caught up with me between 30 and 60km. I went from a real high to a bit of a low. After some rest and recalibrating myself, my next 50km was steady and stable. It is how I want my challenge to go.”
Running and jogging through the desert, across cities and up a mountain, he will follow the E11 highway through Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman to Umm Al Quwain, then pass through Ras Al Khaimah before going over the Hajar mountain range to finish in Fujairah. When Burgess achieves his goal, he would officially set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest UAE crossing on foot.
“At the end of day one, we have done 110km, which is fantastic. It has been a very positive start. I am thankful for the support of my team.” he said.
Prior to this challenge, Burgess was due to participate in the 250km Marathon de Sables ultramarathon across the Moroccan desert, but it was postponed. In the past, he had been part of a relay team that swam across the English Channel, climbed Kilimanjaro, and swam the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swim between Asia and Europe.
“Every year, I try and do something that challenges me physically and mentally. I am taking on this challenge to support an incredible cause. It means a lot because I feel like I have been given a really good hand in life and it is my duty to give back to people who haven’t been given such a good hand and to give them an opportunity to live their best life,” said the Emirates HR tech start-up co-founder and COO.
The challenge is supported by the UAE-based non-profit organisation Gulf for Good, which supports charity projects for children.
Gulf for Good chairwoman Anne Edmondson said: “Gulf for Good was founded to inspire people to challenge themselves for the benefit of less fortunate children, and Sean’s challenge embodies just that. We have worked with SoftPower Education for a number of years, and to be able to support Sean in his efforts to raise awareness and much needed funds to improve the lives of children in Uganda is incredible.”
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