Running into the unknown

"The unknown is where the real stories begin."

When I heard about the Hood to Coast event happening in the Dubai desert this month, I just knew I wanted to take part. It reminded me of the Wadi Bih run I did a couple of times in the Hatta mountains several years ago, and the idea of a team relay in a new environment sounded so exciting! Of course, I needed to find some teammates. For this event though, I really put myself out there and joined a team where I didn’t know anyone. I’ve been making an effort to meet new people through run clubs and fitness events, and this sounded like a great opportunity. So, when the founder of Original Culprit (a fitness wear brand) decided to put some teams together, I went for it.

I had a busy work week and a terrible night’s sleep prior to the event, but I’d committed, and there was no way I was backing out. I arrived at the venue (in the middle of the desert) around 4:30am, and it was dark and cold outside. I met my four teammates for the very first time (we’d only communicated via WhatsApp before), and the nerves definitely set in quickly. But the ‘chicas’ (our team name) were nice, positive and excited, and that set the tone for a good day ahead.

Out of the 100km, I was set to run 9.8km (leg 6) and 10km (leg 11). I hadn’t done much running in the month prior, due to my holiday travels and a niggling hip, so I wasn’t planning to go too fast or chase any PBs, but I still had a time and pace in mind that I wanted to maintain as best I could. The heat, the terrain, and running mostly alone made it all quite challenging. It wasn’t easy, but I stuck to my plan, running the first 9.8km in approximately 50 minutes and the last 10km in just under an hour. These times aren’t great, but many factors contributed to them, and simply getting through those runs was an accomplishment I’m quite proud of. To add to that, a few of us decided to join our teammate and run a few extra kilometers with her at the end on the very last leg, so in total, I ran 23 of the 100km.

It took us approximately nine hours to complete the journey. It was a really long day, but also such a fun and new experience, catching up with lots of ’old friends’ and making new connections along the way.

Some of my goals for the year ahead are to branch out, meet new people and try new things, and so we’re off to a pretty good start just 2 weeks in to 2026. What’s the next challenge of the year? Stay tuned!

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