DUBAI — Soh Wai Ching and Gretta Beckett, two of the world’s top elite tower runners, will lead the charge as runners from around the world take part in Gulf for Good’s Virtual Charity Climb to the Top of Burj Khalifa on Friday, May 15. The Virtual Charity Climb up 2,909 stairs of the world’s tallest tower is being supported by Dubai Sports Council and proceeds from the event will go towards helping more than over 2,000 underprivileged children that Gulf for Good supports in the poorest communities in Nepal, Uganda, Peru, Tanzania, and Lebanon. The fundraising from this challenge will provide the children with the day-to-day essentials — food, clean water, shelter, and clothing to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Ramadan is a time of deep reflection and charitable acts,” said Irishwoman Beckett, who lives in Dubai. “Gulf for Good are providing an opportunity to bring people together virtually to have fun, challenge themselves while helping children in need from the safety of their own home. “Even though we are apart, Gulf for Good are bringing us together for this fantastic challenge. I am extremely honored and excited to be a part of it.” Malaysian Wai Ching, Asia’s top tower runner and No 2 in the world, added: “I want to support Gulf for Good and their virtual stair climb and to give back to the community, inspire more youngsters to pursue their dream, work hard and achieve it, and not to be limited by environmental factors like the COVID-19 pandemic.” Local fitness companies, Runderwear and Haddins Fitness have joined the event as official sponsors. There are prizes to be won for the top three finishers among men and women, and there are plenty of other giveaways for participants like the ‘funkiest trainers’ and ‘most colorful outfit’. Gulf Multi Sport and Inphota are also onboard to track participants throughout the climb via the Strava App. Because this event is virtual, participants can sign up from around the world. So far, stair climbers from the UK, Malaysia, Ireland, South Africa, Denmark and the UAE are participating with more countries expected to follow. David, Rianca and the Runderwear Team said, “We at Runderwear are very happy to support Gulf For Good’s challenge — Virtual Climb to the Top of Burj Khalifa. We believe this challenge reflects our feeling during the Covid Crisis that giving and supporting is impactful now more than ever. We hope many of our Runderwearers will participate.“ Inphota said in a statement: “We"re pleased to be able to launch this initiative with Gulf for Good, who do so much to support underprivileged children around the world. Our aim is that the Inphota technology can help free up the team"s time by streamlining the registration and results capture process.” — SG