A Filipino waiter in Dubai power walked his way to the top in The National’s monthlong #startwalking challenge in the United Arab Emirates.
Ricarte Ricardo Jr. walked up to 90,000 steps each day in the challenge, despite working long hours at night in a restaurant near the Burj Al Arab.
“I was shocked when I was told that I had won the competition because I only entered after my sister told me about it and never expected to get so far,” the 36-year-old told The National. “There is a lot of walking involved in my job ... and on average I would take about 30,000 steps during work alone.”
Ricardo also hit the treadmill every night after his shift ended at 3 a.m., along with hitting the gym twice a day before heading to work at 5 p.m. - resulting in 1.893 million steps logged in the month. #dedication
Ricardo will receive 10,000 dhirams in shopping vouchers. The walking contest was run by Get Fit Arabia as a part of The National’s #healthyliving campaign .
The UAE has began a number of initiatives to address obesity, with a goal of reducing obesity to 12 percent of the population by 2021.