Extreme races that have Arabs running for their lives!

Published March 12th, 2015 - 12:43 GMT

How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions? Have you bailed on healthy eating? Lose that new gym membership card yet? Decided that love handles are in fact, lovable? Rise up, Lazarus! We have a few events that could lure you off the couch.

The Middle East is increasingly becoming a travel destination for tourists looking to test their endurance (for serious athletic prowess or plain silly play) by participating in an increasing number of racing events that cover a range of sports beyond footraces.

Last year, Al Bawaba brought you ten ultra-marathons across this region. We’re back with another batch of sporting events for your consideration!

Most take place in early Spring to avoid the punishing heat and/or humidity that are synonymous with our desert zip codes. (Maybe we should rename the month of “March” to “Run”!)

These events demand peak fitness levels, but also require key management skills as you’ll need to work out your strategy for training, and in some instances, design a costume!

Psychologists say humans will do more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure. It all comes down to your point of view. Is conquering your fears and testing your physical limits self-mastery or sheer-misery? Participation in events like these, especially those staged in unique settings, really ought to feature on everyone’s bucket list. Think you have what it takes?

Want to train in the toughest, trendiest fashion? Check out how the Middle East is going cray-cray for CrossFit!

View as a slider

View as a list

In 2014, Red Bull held an extreme event in Al Ain where teams competed in running, mountain biking and kayaking; the winners walked away crowned “Sultan of the Desert”. This year, on March 1, they hosted Lebanon Jump and Freeze, where mixed-gender trios dressed up in costumes, slid down ski slopes and dove into icy pools. (Image: Redbull.com)

RacingThePlanet is a series of four 7-day footraces, aka “4 Deserts”. It brings athletes to the world’s most forbidding terrain like Chile’s Atacama Crossing, China’s Gobi, Jordan’s Sahara and Antarctica. As with the Marathon des Sables, competitors must carry their own food and gear the entire time. (Image: theathletesfoot.com)

Organizers cancelled this year’s Jordan Sahara Race, part of the 4 Deserts Race Series, a month before its planned start on March 8, 2015 due to the security situation in and around Jordan. It was their first race cancellation in 12 years and 45 races.The race is planned to resume in 2016. (Image: resources1)

Marathon des Sables, aka "Marathon of the Sands," is a 6-day, 154-mile trek through Morocco’s Sahara Desert. Athletes endure sandstorms, snakes and soaring temperatures. Powder-fine sand renders much of it un-runnable. Three runners died in the past, but the race still attracts 1,000+ racers each April. (Image: wikimedia.com)

The Zayed Marathon returns to the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on March 21, raising money for the Healthy Kidney Foundation and fostering healthier and fitter communities and celebrate the Abu Dhabi’s national identity. It features a 5K “Hand Cycle” race for wheelchair competitors, and cash prizes for all events! (Image: thecairopost.com)

The 2015 Dead Sea Ultra Marathon is on April 3. Runners compete in the 10 km, 21 km 1/2, or the brutal 50 km ultra marathon from Jordan’s capital Amman down the steep trek to the Dead Sea. The stunning view of the glistening sea and the après-run dip in the rejuvenating sea make the nasty, knee-blasting descent worth it. (Image: portalturism)

Jordan’s 2015 Full Moon Desert Marathon is on May 1 in Wadi Rum, a dramatic desert wilderness and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The race starts pre-sunset and goes into the night. As the full moon rises, ancient rocks glow, and your trek is guided by torches. T.E.Lawrence described the area as “vast, echoing and God-like." (Image: oeil-et-plume)

Go back in time with the 2015 Petra Desert Marathon on September 12. There’s also a half marathon on offer, and challenge yourself to a desert run in the ancient city of Petra. Run through the arid desert and lunar-like landscape surrounding the city. The dry, desert heat will keep your muscles limber! (Image: petradesertmarathon.com)

The UAE’s most extreme race, the 2014 Men’s Health Urbanathlon had a series of 18 obstacles over a 10km course at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit. Contestants battled water cannons, monkey bars, cargo nets, hill slides and a terrifying ‘wall of death’. Too much for Abu Dhabi? No sign of a repeat event for 2015! (Image: thenational.com)

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is the richest long distance running event in the Middle East, awarding $1 million in prize money for men and $250,000 for women in January 2008. The biggest event of its kind in the Middle East, this year’s race held in January drew a record field of more than 25,000 runners. (Image: mydowntowndubai.com)

“14 km of beaches, 450 bars, 1,320 restaurants” - what’s not to love about a race described so? The Tel Aviv Samsung Marathon 2016 expects 35,000 participants all running to raise money for charity in February. Run the ultra-race from Tel Aviv to Al Quds (and back again), or the 5 km, 10 km, 1/2 and full marathon. (Image: theepochtimes.com)

In 2014, Red Bull held an extreme event in Al Ain where teams competed in running, mountain biking and kayaking; the winners walked away crowned “Sultan of the Desert”. This year, on March 1, they hosted Lebanon Jump and Freeze, where mixed-gender trios dressed up in costumes, slid down ski slopes and dove into icy pools. (Image: Redbull.com)

RacingThePlanet is a series of four 7-day footraces, aka “4 Deserts”. It brings athletes to the world’s most forbidding terrain like Chile’s Atacama Crossing, China’s Gobi, Jordan’s Sahara and Antarctica. As with the Marathon des Sables, competitors must carry their own food and gear the entire time. (Image: theathletesfoot.com)

Organizers cancelled this year’s Jordan Sahara Race, part of the 4 Deserts Race Series, a month before its planned start on March 8, 2015 due to the security situation in and around Jordan. It was their first race cancellation in 12 years and 45 races.The race is planned to resume in 2016. (Image: resources1)

Marathon des Sables, aka "Marathon of the Sands," is a 6-day, 154-mile trek through Morocco’s Sahara Desert. Athletes endure sandstorms, snakes and soaring temperatures. Powder-fine sand renders much of it un-runnable. Three runners died in the past, but the race still attracts 1,000+ racers each April. (Image: wikimedia.com)

The Zayed Marathon returns to the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on March 21, raising money for the Healthy Kidney Foundation and fostering healthier and fitter communities and celebrate the Abu Dhabi’s national identity. It features a 5K “Hand Cycle” race for wheelchair competitors, and cash prizes for all events! (Image: thecairopost.com)

The 2015 Dead Sea Ultra Marathon is on April 3. Runners compete in the 10 km, 21 km 1/2, or the brutal 50 km ultra marathon from Jordan’s capital Amman down the steep trek to the Dead Sea. The stunning view of the glistening sea and the après-run dip in the rejuvenating sea make the nasty, knee-blasting descent worth it. (Image: portalturism)

Jordan’s 2015 Full Moon Desert Marathon is on May 1 in Wadi Rum, a dramatic desert wilderness and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The race starts pre-sunset and goes into the night. As the full moon rises, ancient rocks glow, and your trek is guided by torches. T.E.Lawrence described the area as “vast, echoing and God-like." (Image: oeil-et-plume)

Go back in time with the 2015 Petra Desert Marathon on September 12. There’s also a half marathon on offer, and challenge yourself to a desert run in the ancient city of Petra. Run through the arid desert and lunar-like landscape surrounding the city. The dry, desert heat will keep your muscles limber! (Image: petradesertmarathon.com)

The UAE’s most extreme race, the 2014 Men’s Health Urbanathlon had a series of 18 obstacles over a 10km course at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit. Contestants battled water cannons, monkey bars, cargo nets, hill slides and a terrifying ‘wall of death’. Too much for Abu Dhabi? No sign of a repeat event for 2015! (Image: thenational.com)

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is the richest long distance running event in the Middle East, awarding $1 million in prize money for men and $250,000 for women in January 2008. The biggest event of its kind in the Middle East, this year’s race held in January drew a record field of more than 25,000 runners. (Image: mydowntowndubai.com)

“14 km of beaches, 450 bars, 1,320 restaurants” - what’s not to love about a race described so? The Tel Aviv Samsung Marathon 2016 expects 35,000 participants all running to raise money for charity in February. Run the ultra-race from Tel Aviv to Al Quds (and back again), or the 5 km, 10 km, 1/2 and full marathon. (Image: theepochtimes.com)

Extreme races that have Arabs running for their lives!

You may also like

Subscribe

Jimmy Kimmel returns as ABC ends suspension after political controversy

Putin offers arms control extension but warns west against all-out escalation

İbrahim Çelikkol marries Natali Yarcan after three-year relationship

Iranian lawmakers urge development of nuclear bomb

23 killed in deadly airstrike in Pakistan’s border region