The best costumes at Dubai Festival City Mall’s family-friendly Halloween Run

We’re at that rare time of the year when Halloween briefly intersects with the Dubai Fitness Challenge. And no event better encapsulates this quite like Dubai Festival City Mall's Halloween Run.

The spooktacular evening run took place on Saturday, in partnership with Race Me and Dubai Sports Council. Ghouls and ghosts of all ages and abilities were invited to compete, dressed to distress.

Participants were given the choice between two route options – a 2.5-kilometre fun run and a 5km race for more serious runners – taking them on the promenade area of Dubai Festival City, starting from Festival Bay to Marsa Plaza and back.

A number of runners from all age groups gathered from 6.30pm onwards, all dressed in their Halloween best, for the race that began at 8pm. This included everything from Squid Game costumes, superhero capes, to vampire and witch outfits.

Participants dressed up in costumes during the Halloween Run held at Dubai Festival City Mall, on October 30, 2021. Pawan Singh / The National

The event took more than an hour, with the route featuring a number of spooky elements and decor – including a haunted tunnel. There were some sweet moments in between too, as the fun run included pit stops where participants could collect treats from spectators and staff.

For pictures of the terror-fuelled run, scroll through the gallery above.

Adding to the eerie vibe was the Imagine laser show, which had a Halloween-themed display running every 30 minutes during the event.

The Dubai Festival City Mall run concluded with a fancy dress prize, with winners getting a giant Halloween hamper for their effort. Winning costumes included that of a Squid Game character and a green witch.

Meanwhile, everyone wearing Halloween costumes was awarded a hat and a bag of sweets.

The Halloween Run was launched this year in an effort to "bring joy to everyone while also promoting a healthy lifestyle among residents and visitors". It's one of the many races and runs taking place in Dubai this season, including Dubai Festival City's Santa Run in December.

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet

The schedule

December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club

December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq

December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm

December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition

December 13: Falcon beauty competition

December 14 and 20: Saluki races

December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm

December 16 - 19: Falconry competition

December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am

December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am

December 22: The best herd of 30 camels

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer