With sweat pouring down her face, Kate Shannon is first to cross the line.
There are cheers and hugs from her teammates, before she collapses onto the sand to catch her breath. It is only 9am but already 38 degrees celsius.
This is a warm-up with a difference. This is the Bad Times Boot Camp.
Kate is one of about 30 unemployed expats who sweat it out on Dubai's Jumeirah Beach three times a week.
In the shadow of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, they jog and sprint, do press-ups and sit-ups and occasionally an odd star jump or two.
And in their colourful t-shirts, they are a diverse group. Young and old, men and women and a whole host of nationalities.
But there is one thing they do have in common. They have all lost their jobs in Dubai in the last few months.
Networking and support
As the economic slowdown takes its toll here, laid-off expats have two choices.
Either pack up and go home, as many have already done, or stick it out and look for another job.
That is what these expats are doing.
And in between the job hunting and interview preparation, they come to the boot camp.
"I've been looking for work but there's nothing available in what I want to do," says Kate, who lost her job in marketing.
"But the group is great. It's very supportive, it gets you up in the morning and at the end of the session we chat, support each other and see how we're all getting on.
"I've already made some contacts today for another possible opportunity, so it's a really good idea."
Great motivator
Alex Light, 26, got the idea when he lost his job as a business consultant in January after four years in Dubai.
Rather than dwelling on his bad luck, he created the Bad Times Boot Camp.
He runs the free sessions on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for those feeling the stress of job hunting, there's even a yoga group.
"Losing my job hit me pretty hard," says Alex.
"But then I started training for a local marathon and noticed how much better I felt after exercise.
"So I got thinking, 'what if I do something to get people up in a morning, get them out of the house and give them something to focus on?'," he says.
"The response has been amazing. People say it helps set them up for the day and then they go off, motivated to apply for jobs. Otherwise, I think most of them would still be in bed."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8058341.stm
Great idea. For a long time I haven't seen a positive initiative in this place. Did any one hear about that?
