Alone in a new country, Iranian Zohreh Hashemabadi fought loneliness by taking up running and joining like-minded enthusiasts in pursuit of her passion.
Embraced by the running community of Oman, Zohreh, in just a few months time, would eventually participate in the Himam Trail Run, which covers 21 km along the tricky roads of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar. Despite being a newbie to running, Zohreh immediately fell in love with the sport, and her first venture into the competitive arena would land her second place, which was an amazing feat, especially for a newbie like her who only used to run 2-3 km.
“I’ve never run beyond the 2-3 km distance I used to do for fun with my friends. After winning second place in the women’s category and understanding the difficulty level, I’ve come to realise that I am up for this kind of challenge,” she shared.
The 2022 edition of the now-popular trail run gathered more than 500 runners from 41 countries, the challenge of which combined a flat run followed by a challenging ascent in the Al Hajar mountains.
When Zohreh won second place, she immediately became a brand ambassador for the Himam Trail Run, clearly establishing that if women put their minds into a certain sport, they can definitely achieve something remarkable.
Fresh from her win and upon learning that Italy is organising the Utlac Endurance Trail of Lake Como, Zohreh decided to register and see if she will be able to overcome the 250 km route with an elevation of 12,000 m above sea level. With only 90 hours to finish the trail, Zohreh knows that it will be an amazing challenge for her to try.
Scheduled from May 10 to 14, the second edition of the Lake Como Endurance Trail gathered 600 runners. Out of this number, only 60 runners from 13 different countries registered for the Ultra 250 km route, which covered the Sentiero del Viandante, the Via dei Monti Lariani, and the paths of the Dorsale del Triangolo Lariano — a connection that created a circular route around Lake Como.
Zohreh was joined by another expat based in Oman, Indian Subash Anchalos, who is also an avid runner and one of the popular faces of the sport in Muscat.
Subash has participated in various competitions within Oman and India and has actively organised running challenges within his sports community. In his few years of experience, he has completed multiple marathons, but he was looking for a bigger challenge to look forward to. Being consistent in running, Subash knew that he could manage this ultra-trail run if he followed his training methods and would be able to finish before the cut-off time.
Subash registered at UTLAC250 to challenge himself to see his ability to stay in the challenge and finish the run in a decent time.
“I prepared myself only to be consistent to be in the race and to see how I finish the trail run of 250 km which was a bigger jump from my previous trail run at Himam of 100 km. I was not looking for the position, however, I was looking forward to finishing the race in a decent time,” he said.
UTLAC 250 km not only challenges the participant’s endurance level; it also takes an extreme test of their mental stability. The entire route is not mapped; the participants have been given the live GPS tracker, and they are supposed to follow and finish their own way.
While the distance was long, families were able to track their locations live, and both runners shared, “We felt very safe and motivated to be in touch with our family members and close friends who were constantly monitoring our race and motivating us to go further and push our limits.”
“On the last day, it was very difficult as the weather changed. It started raining and we kept on missing the right tracks, which made us run for a few extra kilometres and hallucinate. The right kind of training kept us on the path to finish the race with a smiling face,” both shared.
Subash finished his trail run in 78 hours, including approximately 2 hours of break time at different break points. As for Zohreh, she finished the trail in 70.50 hours, including a break time of approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, which landed her in fourth place for the women’s category.
“It was an amazing feeling to have been able to finish the trail and to place within the top 5, it was an added motivation that I can do more of this,” Zohreh shared.
While both Zohreh and Subash have plenty of tips for those aspiring to follow in their adventure, they said that foremost of all is understanding your fitness level, doing the right training and mental conditioning, getting the right nutrition, adhering to a proper diet plan, and investing on the right gears.
Both agreed it is important to acclimatise your body and to take control of your mind before the race.
For both Zohreh and Subash, ULTAC has been their biggest and longest challenge, and having conquered the said race, they look forward to the Istanbul Marathon in November and the Himam 110 km in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar after that.
“Being runners, Oman is the best place to train. If someone needs to focus on marathon runs, Oman has beautiful long tracks and road safety at its best,” Suresh shared.
“The great thing about Oman is that there are different elevation levels and trail run challenges. There’s also good infrastructure and facilities and top of all, a healthy and supportive community,” Zohreh said.
Both shared that without the support of the runner’s community like Muscat Road Runners, Get off the Road, and Oman Sportzone, their achievements would not have been possible as these groups have helped them stay motivated and achieve bigger goals.
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