Hatta Spartan
This weekend saw the UAE host 2 big events, the Spartan OCR event in Hatta and the Zayed Charity race in the region’s capital in Abu Dhabi. New member Francois completed the 5km Sprint AND, yes AND the 10km event whilst Ahmad completed the 10km event as both Strydz members warmed up for the 21km Beast on Sunday.
ON Sunday, the tough 21km course climbed up 580m of elevation and included 30 different obstacles to navigate. Ahmad came 5th in his age group for the 21km course, his first time reaching an official ranking in a Spartan race. Meanwhile, Francois was rewarded with the Trifecta medal for completing all 3 events and successfully completed all 75 obstacles. Well done guys.
Zayed Charity Race
When there is over 1 million dirhams of prize money, you can expect a quality field of athletes and this year was no exception. Elite athletes from Morocco and Ethiopia toed the start line with regional athletes largely from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and entertained the crowds with some superb running performances.
There was some brilliant running from Hattie, Cloe and Lee as they all claimed some podium wins in their respective age categories. Chloe was up first in a strong 10km women’s race in what saw the first 15 athletes from the African continent. Chloe ran a strong race in 16th position crossing the line in 35:13 and placed number 1 in her age category. Lee started his running campaign with a fitness testing 5km. In his first race back since April 23rd, he finished strongly in 16:45 and also claimed a cheeky 3rd position age category position. Finally, Hattie Garrett won her age group category in the U11 3km race and produced an impressive personal best time of 11:47. Well done all.
Social STRYDZ
A perfect Sunday morning made for a great long run starting at Kite n Surf Beach, along Business Bay Canal, over Tolerance Bridge and back to the start. Next week, we are at Mushrif Park, meeting at the top Car Park. Starting at 7am to explore the trails. All abilities welcome, free to join.
