30 Day Step Challenge
The flagship. Every step from 31 October counts, from the phone in your pocket or your watch. The biggest board of the thirty days.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
Getting started
How do I join the Dubai30x30 challenges?
Download the free Core Direction app, create your profile, and tap join on any of the ten challenges. It takes about two minutes. Connect your phone's health data or a wearable and your activity counts automatically from 31 October 2026.
1
Get the free app
Core Direction is free on the App Store and Google Play. You do not need a subscription to take part in any of the ten challenges.
2
Connect your steps
Works with the phone in your pocket, or with Garmin, Apple Health, Google Health Connect, Fitbit, Samsung Health and WHOOP. Roughly 95% of the wearable market is supported.
3
Join and get on the board
Tap join on as many challenges as you like. Your position updates live on a citywide leaderboard, and everyone who hits the target is in for the prize.
The ten
What are the ten Dubai30x30 challenges?
Three challenges run the full thirty days: steps, distance and Core Points. Three ten day step sprints run back to back. Four twenty four hour missions land on the Mondays inside the window: squats on 2 November, push ups on 9 November, sit ups on 16 November and burpees on 23 November. Every one is free and open to anyone in Dubai.
30 Day Distance Challenge
Run it, walk it, ride it. Total distance across the thirty days, however you cover the ground.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
30 Day Core Points Challenge
Everything counts here, weighted so a gym session, a swim and a long walk all earn their place. Built to reward variety rather than one sport.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
10 Day Step Sprint 1
A short, sharp board that opens with the window. Ten days is close enough to see, so the first sprint is the easiest one to win.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
10 Day Step Sprint 2
A clean slate in the middle of the month. Missed the first sprint, or won it? This is the rematch.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
10 Day Step Sprint 3
The last ten days of Dubai30x30. Everyone is fit by now, so this is the fastest board of the three.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
24H Squat Mission
One day, one city, one number. Log your squats through the day and watch the board move in real time.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
24H Push Ups Mission
No equipment, no excuses, no gym needed. Twenty four hours to put a number on the board.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
24H Sit Ups Mission
The one you can do in front of the television. Easy to start, harder than it looks to win.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
24H Burpees Mission
The hardest mission of the four, on purpose, and the last one of the window. If you only do one, do this one.
Prize from AED 10,000Brand to be announced
You can join as many as you like. Nothing stops you being on the thirty day step board, a ten day sprint and every Monday mission at the same time. Each one is a separate leaderboard and a separate prize.
Prizes
What can I win?
Every challenge carries a prize worth a minimum of AED 10,000, funded by the brand powering it. Prizes are announced as each brand is confirmed. Entry is free, and on most challenges everyone who reaches the target goes into the draw rather than only the top three.
| Challenge type | How many | Minimum prize | Who funds it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thirty day challenges | 3 | AED 10,000 each | The brand powering that challenge |
| Ten day step sprints | 3 | AED 10,000 each | The brand powering that challenge |
| Twenty four hour missions | 4 | AED 10,000 each | The brand powering that challenge |
Each prize is owned, held and awarded by the brand powering that challenge. Core Direction runs the leaderboard, verifies the result and hands over the winner. Prize mechanics and terms are set by each brand and are subject to applicable UAE promotion rules, so check the terms on your challenge before you enter.
The app
What does the Core Direction app actually do?
It runs the challenges, and it carries the rest of your fitness. Steps, distance, sleep and heart rate sync on their own, an AI coach counts your squats and push ups through the phone camera, a body scan tracks composition over time, and Core Coach answers questions about training, sleep and nutrition. All of it is free, and none of it stops when the thirty days do.
Fourteen screens. Swipe or scroll sideways to look through the app.
Activity syncs automatically from all of these, so nothing needs logging by hand:
Apple HealthGoogle Health ConnectGarminFitbitSamsung HealthWHOOPThe phone in your pocket
The brands
Who is behind the challenges?
Each of the ten challenges is powered by a single brand, which funds the prize and puts its name on that leaderboard. Brands are announced as they are confirmed, ahead of the 31 October start.
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Are you a brand? Ten challenges means only ten brands, and the slots are on this page.
Questions, answered
Everything you need to know
Are the Dubai30x30 challenges free to join?
Yes. All ten challenges are free. The Core Direction app is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, and you do not need a subscription to take part in any challenge or to appear on any leaderboard.
Do I need a smartwatch or a fitness tracker?
No. The phone in your pocket is enough for the step and distance challenges. If you do wear something, Core Direction connects to Garmin, Apple Health, Google Health Connect, Fitbit, Samsung Health and WHOOP, which covers roughly 95% of the wearable market.
Scoring is weighted to favour wearable verified activity, and there is anti gaming logic on every board, so shaking your phone will not get you to the top.
When do the challenges start and finish?
The window runs for thirty days, from Saturday 31 October 2026 to Sunday 29 November 2026. The three thirty day challenges cover the whole window. The three ten day sprints run 31 October to 9 November, 10 to 19 November and 20 to 29 November. The four twenty four hour missions are on Mondays 2, 9, 16 and 23 November.
Do I have to live in Dubai to take part?
The challenges are built for Dubai and the leaderboards are citywide, but the app works anywhere and anyone can join. If you are visiting during the Dubai Fitness Challenge period, you are in.
Is this the official Dubai Fitness Challenge?
No. The Dubai Fitness Challenge and Dubai 30x30 are organised by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism with Dubai Sports Council. These are Core Direction's own public challenges, running during the same thirty day window. Core Direction has been an approved Dubai Fitness Challenge technology partner for four years.
The official city programme, its events and its Fitness Villages are at the Dubai Fitness Challenge website. You can do both, and most people will.
How do the leaderboards work?
Each challenge has its own live citywide leaderboard that updates as activity syncs. You can see your position at any time, and you can use a nickname rather than your real name if you would rather not appear publicly.
Can I do this with my company or my friends?
Yes. On top of the ten public challenges, Core Direction runs private community and company challenges, so a team, a gym, a school or a group of friends can have their own board alongside the city one. Companies can run a full thirty day programme for their staff.
Company programmes are set up separately at dfc2026.coredirection.com.
What happens to my data?
You create your own profile and you grant your own health permissions on your own device. If you join a brand's challenge you agree to a single named statement on that brand's community page before anything is shared, and the brand receives your name, mobile number, email address and your activity in that challenge only.
No wider activity, no history from before the campaign, nothing from any other community, and no financial data at any point. You can leave a community, revoke the wearable permission or delete your account at any time.
Which app do I need for the Dubai Fitness Challenge?
For these ten challenges and their leaderboards you need the free Core Direction app, available on the App Store and Google Play. Core Direction tracks over 24 billion steps for more than 100,000 members across 117 countries.
Thirty days. Ten boards. One city.
Get the app, join a challenge, and see where you land. It is free, it takes two minutes, and the first board opens on 31 October.