Want to run a marathon, do an ultra, climb a mountain, row an ocean? This evening of talks will help with ‘the how’…

Dubai is a city that is symbolic of the pioneering human spirit. Carved out of a hostile desert – its rapid growth and central seat on the world stage fuelled by defiance of the conventional, and an unwillingness to entertain the idea of ‘impossible’.

It’s perhaps little wonder then, that the UAE seems to attract adventure cravers and outlier trailblazers in such numbers and across a wide variety of fields. These individuals are represented in the collective pool of entrepreneurs, social leaders, culinary innovators and those on the bare cliff face of endurance sport.

Some examples from this last category of humans that are ‘built differently’ – are behind a new XCEL Talks evening taking place at Five Iron Dubai, The Westin, Mina Seyahi, Dubai next Thursday, November 28.

It’s a ticketed event by endurance sports men and women, for aspiring endurance sports men and women who are looking for their next challenge. Maybe you’re ready to start planning that Kilimanjaro ascent, or running an ultra marathon, perhaps it’s the open ocean that calls out to you, the icy expanse of the Arctic, or just taking all the supermarket shopping from the car to the kitchen in one trip. Whatever your personal Everest, you’ll find inspiration to summit it at A Night of Endurance! by XCEL Talks.

Tickets for the event are charged at Dhs250 and include two complimentary drinks, a buffet dinner and a privileged seat at these inspirational talks. And they’re offering a special deal for What’s On readers, with Dhs50 off when you book via secure.telr.com.

Speakers at the event include your host Sam Morris -​ CEO of EnduranceXcel, ultra-endurance athlete, ocean rower and professional adventurer; Nelly Attar, world record-holding mountaineer and entrepreneur; David Labouchere, high-performance coach and world-class IronMan; Lee harris​, ultra-runner and performance coach; Vicki Matheson, marathon runner – World Majors; Orlagh Dempsey​, ocean rower and ultra-endurance athlete; and a recently added pairing of Paris Norriss and James Elliot-Square who’ll be talking about the training behind, and the reasons to tackle, the ‘7 Marathons, 7 Continents, 7 Days’ challenge.

Five Iron Dubai, The Westin, Mina Seyahi, November 28 6pm to 10pm. secure.telr.com