Woman sheds almost 30kg in a year with help of company’s wellness programme

Dubai Holding employee Clare Hartnett now hopes to take part in next year's Vertical Marathon. This year's edition of the 52-floor stair-climbing challenge takes place on Friday.

Clare Hartnett, 50, has lost more than 28kg after adopting a healthy and active lifestyle. Sarah Dea /The National

DUBAI // A woman has shed 28kg in weight in just 12 months as part of her company’s long-term plan to improve the health of its employees.

Mother of five Clare Hartnett, who works for Dubai Holding on the Dubai Design District project as director of shared services, celebrated her 50th birthday last year and wanted to change her lifestyle to lose weight and quit smoking.

Although not quite ready for Friday’s Vertical Marathon, an annual event in which participants scale 52 floors and 1,334 steps of Jumeirah Emirates Towers, she is determined to take part next year.

“We were not focused on wellness when I started at Dubai Holdings 15 years ago, so it has evolved over time,” she said.

“I was a big smoker, a pack a day without fail, for 26 years. When I decided to quit, the company was very supportive.

“They gave me milestones and rewards as an incentive, and it worked. It inspired me to start exercising.

“I was very overweight, in the high 90 kilograms, and eating lots of fast food.”

She said her busy home life made it difficult to exercise, but after hiring a personal trainer and starting running, she lost 28kg and dropped from a dress size 20 to a 10.

She has now set her sights on the Dubai Marathon early next year – one of many events sponsored by Dubai Holding – followed by the vertical version.

“Prior to exercising, I would get rheumatoid arthritis and problems with my legs,” Ms Hartnett, who is now a member of Dubai Creek Striders Running Club, added.

“They put me on tablets, but they made me feel very sick. Since I started running, everything has gone. I feel much healthier. “The wellness programme is all free and gives advice on posture, diet and exercise programmes. Dubai Holding has stuck its neck out to help staff. Next year, I’d like to run the Vertical Marathon.”

About 300 people will take part in Friday’s race up 265 metres of Emirates Towers, raising funds for the Al Jalila Foundation in the process.

Last year, Dh280,000 was raised by more than 170 runners for healthcare research, so expectations are high that more can be raised this year.

With her new-found fitness, Ms Hartnett has also been keen to do her bit for charity, and she raised Dh11,000 from running the Dubai 10km in January, donating the money to the Al Jalila Foundation.

Her company’s wellness programme covers 22,000 employees working at the Jumeirah Group, Tecom Investments, Dubai Properties Group and Emirates International Telecommunications.

Other activities include promoting healthy and convenient food options for employees, a healthy working environment, advice on weight management and how to stay healthy and active during Ramadan.

Cedric Betis, chairman of Dubai Holding’s Wellness Committee, was a winner in last year’s team Vertical Marathon event.

“Our wellness programme is all about our people,” he said.

“We started off by creating an executive wellness programme for just eight people.

“We wanted to create a culture of wellness in the hope that would cascade down to the other staff and create a better workplace.”