I’m not sure where I heard about it, but I had read about the 12 hour walk sometime last year and had noted it down in my journal. I had forgotten about it, but happened to read it again last weekend while browsing Reddit. With weather being super nice here in Abu Dhabi, I thought why not take this challenge! Unlike Dubai where I had lived earlier, Abu Dhabi felt more pedestrian friendly with the whole network of cycling and jogging tracks (Do you know that Abu Dhabi is the first city in Asia to be awarded ‘UCI Bike City’?). Also, with Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial (PAAD) happening, it felt like the perfect opportunity! Since I’m relatively new in the city, it felt like a great opportunity to assess some good routes that I can bike or walk later. This post is a small documentation of my walk with the routes, what to pack and some reflections, in case someone wants to do it, especially in Abu Dhabi. I wrote this looking at some pictures and reading some of my notes.

About the Challenge

The 12 hour walk was conceptualized by Colin O’Brady , an American adventurer, endurance athlete, and motivational speaker. He has even written a book titled ‘12 Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life’. I haven’t read the book but the reviews seem decent on Amazon and Goodreads. The rules of the 12 hour walk are simple:

• Walk for 12 continuous hours
• Walk alone with no companions
• Avoid any distractions such as music, podcasts or audiobooks
• Your phone must be on flight mode always, only for emergencies and tracking via the 12 hour app
• Take breaks as needed, but the clock keeps on ticking

The Plan

Since Abu Dhabi is a relatively new planned city and safe, I had no issues with getting lost. As a backup, I had downloaded an offline version of the city on Google Maps. My plan was to start from home, walk north and reach the mangrove walks, then walk the trail, head west to reach the corniche area of the city, roam around, watch few public art pieces along the way, walk around the area and return home. This was my gear/packing list for the walk:

• Uniqlo Jogger Pants since it’s so comfy
• Decathlon Loose Fitness T-Shirt since it’s slightly thick in case it gets chilly.
• Vans Old Skool since my running shoes are worn down and this felt comfy as well
• A cap
• Powerbank for emergencies and charging my watch
• A 1L bottle
• A hoodie in case it gets cold
• Extra pair of socks
• My camera in case I find something to capture
• A small notebook to note my reflections

I had no goals for hitting any distance. I decided to go along with the flow with no expectations. I also decided to use my phone for photos, but phone will be on flight mode always. The weather forecast also looked decent with a low of 13 and a max of 26 with no rain in sight. Since my wife goes for football on Tuesdays and comes back late, I thought I would start by 8 and reach home by 8.

12 Hour Walk

I ended up waking up late, but decided to go anyway. Packed all my stuff, had a protein shake and started by 9AM sharp. Within half an hour it started to feel weird. I mean I’ve gone to multi-day hikes and treks in the wild, but walking without listening to music or not having internet in an urban jungle felt weird. Within 30 minutes, I reached the mangrove trail or the walk that runs parallel to the mangrove forests. The weather was good and the views were serene. It was mostly empty with occasional cyclists passing by.

Around 10 AM, I saw some public binoculars which can be used to watch birds on the other side resting in the mangroves. I also found a cat which was trying to dry itself. Decided to take a 5 min break playing with the cat and I walked along. One hour in, I saw round resting thingies, which was surprisingly comfy. Took a few mins break, sipped some water and followed the path. As I walked along, the view of the skyscrapers was starting to get bigger as I was getting close to the city.

By 11:30 I reached the city with few kms pending to reach the corniche. I had this urge to eat something even though I was not really hungry, maybe a 6/10. But one thing I’ve learned from my past long endurance bike rides, it’s always better to eat before you’re hungry and drink before you’re thirsty. Another thing that I like about these long endurance activities is that you can eat whatever you want as you would end up burning way more calories than you can eat. Grabbed a Rani Drink , which is one of my favorite soft drinks here in the Middle East. The shopkeeper suggested a good place for lunch which was coincidentally my favorite Kerala restaurant in the city as I had ordered from them in the past. I walked through the sidewalks in the city and reached Payyanur Restaurant . My plan was to eat some chapathi and beef fry, but the waiter convinced me to try their Thalassery biryani and he assured that I won’t regret. Eh, I couldn’t resist the urge and ordered that. I mean biryani is a too heavy meal for a walk like this. The biryani came, the portion was too big, it was so tasty, but I ended up eating only 3/4th of it. The food was great and slowly started walking again.

By 1:30 I reached a park nearby corniche. Abu Dhabi has a lot of parks and I can’t exactly remember what it was. Found a cool sundial in the park and I walked along the park. The boards and signs of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial (PAAD) were showing up everywhere. Saw this art installation called “Among Trees” by a Palestinian artist named Khalil Rabah. These are basically olive trees planted in rusted metal containers. As per the art statement, these are supposed to move evoking the cycling nature of Sufi rituals, but nothing happened. I stared at them for a good 15 minutes, but they never moved, weird!

I moved along and reached the corniche route. Saw few art installations on the way. No more art info to bore anyone, maybe I will save it separately for an exclusive post about PAAD. It was getting sunny, I wanted to check the temperature, but then I remembered I do not have internet. Then the thought came to me, I mean checking temperature except warnings doesn’t add any value to anyone. It felt hot, probably mid 20s which I had seen in the forecast. Decided to take some rest in shade and sipped some water.

So far no sign of blisters and no major issues. My quads and calves were feeling a bit tight, but that’s expected since I’ve been walking nearly for 6 hours now with some rest. Also I did some squats and calf raises in the gym yesterday. Coincidentally after few mins, I saw a walkway named as Reflexology pathway, paved with some river stones. I’m not a big fan of alternative therapies or things with no scientific evidence irrespective of the fact that it is practiced for centuries as wiki says. Had the urge to walk on it, but was too lazy to remove my shoes.

I walked along and found a Cinnabon outlet. It also says Seattle’s Best Coffee. Are these both the same? Few moments I wish I had internet, but totally unnecessary. Ordered an iced americano, since it was sunny and I decided to sit outdoors along the beach. Tried the coffee and it was so bad. I love coffee but this was super bad. Worst tagline for a business. Sipped my coffee lost in my thoughts and was thinking why I never came here for a swim. Got lost in my thoughts and left there after around 20 minutes.

Walked along the beach route, saw many cyclists passing. Overheard a woman saying that the rented bicycles and scooters are geotagged and automatically turn off when they are out of the designated cycling path. Made a mental note that I would research about it later. Walked along the sidewalk that leads to the epic Emirates Palace hotel. Saw so many people trying to catch some fish. Stared at them for few minutes and walked along finally where the walking path reached a dead end. The time was around 5:30 PM and then I realized even if I walk my way back, I won’t reach home in the designated 12 hours. Who cares, decided to walk back enjoying the city views.

On my way back, I decided to follow the city sidewalk route since by the time clock hits 12 hours, if my guesses are correct, I would be 6 hours before my home. One mistake I did during this walk was not picking the correct socks. I went for the comfiest socks I had in my wardrobe which were loose and it was causing a problem. I could feel some blisters getting formed. Also, the Vans shoes were not suited for this walk. I wish I had worn some shoes with cushion or something designated for long walks. The shoes felt like a brick now. I changed to a fresh pair of socks, but that clearly didn’t help. No visible blisters, but feet were paining a bit. Took few mins to drink some water and relax.

I took a detour from the beachside route and entered the city. It’s been 10 hours since I started the walk, and I’m still lost in my thoughts. It felt magical to be lost in a bustling city evening with no phone or internet. Walked along the sidepath for few kms and feet pain was getting worse. Decided to take some rest, eat few biscuits and drink some juice. After 10 minutes decided to walk again and finally reached the Abu Dhabi bus station. Met two girls who were offering map guides and a poem by an artist as part of the art exhibition. Grabbed them and started to walk again.

By 9PM, 12 hours in, I finished the challenge having walked around 40.07 kms, 54,017 steps and burnt 4,538 calories as per my watch. My feet hurt, quads and calves feel tight. It felt nice to finally complete the walk. Since I was 5kms away from home, decided to take a taxi and head home.

The activity can be viewed on Strava here and you can ↓ download the GPX file .

Some Stats

• Total Distance: 40.07 km
• Steps: 54,017
• Calories Burned: 4,538
• Average Pace: 13:10 /km
• Total Moving Time: 08:42:04
• Total Elapsed Time: 12:06:18

Note: Total distance, steps and calories burnt are from my watch. Average and moving time copied from Strava. Data may appear inconsistent since Strava truncates data when uploaded.

              EXPENSES                   
Item                      Cost (AED)
-----------------------------------
Rani Drink                     1.50
Bourbon biscuit                2.50
Peanuts                        1.00
Thalassery Chicken Biriyani   15.00
Cold Americano                17.00
Lacnor fruit cocktail          2.50
Salted Peanuts                 2.50
Al Rawabi lemon mint           1.50
Taxi to home                  15.00
-----------------------------------
Total                     AED 58.50
                          USD 11.84

Glad that I took a water bottle, lots of points for refilling water. Saved lots of water and avoided so much plastic. Also, it’s weird to see that an americano costs more than a biriyani! Brand value I guess!

What I Would Do Different

• Put on sunblock. I never thought it would get this sunny
• Pack some snacks and few protein bars
• Wear some good blister-free socks
• Wear footwear that is designed for long walks
• Start a bit early to catch the golden hour at dawn and also at dusk

Reflections

As 12hourwalk.com says, “An eye-opening experience to conquer your mind and unlock life’s limitless possibilities”, I never had any such eye-opening experience. I felt meditative for sure, lost in my own thoughts. In 2022, I had done a 600km bike ride , so maybe I’m used to such feelings in the past. But it felt nice being disconnected, away from all the digital noise. I was not under any information overload and I just reacted. For few hours I felt like an organism that just responds to external stimuli, not being influenced by anything digital. It also felt nice zoning out in the middle of city, with you and your own thoughts, with the only intention of walking. Also, when I finally ended my walk and decided to turn off the flight mode, my phone was stuck for 2-3 mins with all the notifications pouring in. Reminded me of all the unnecessary things we end up getting notified, just because some company wants us to. Nothing major had happened in the last 12 hours. Feeling grateful and proud of what I did. It also felt like a nice way to connect with the city I live in from morning to evening.

That’s it!
Highly recommend trying this out, especially if you’re looking for a digital detox. It’s amazing what your mind discovers when there’s no screen to distract you.

Let me know if you’re doing it!
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