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THREE dynamic women are all set to put their sporting prowess to the test in one of the world’s most challenging athletic events.
Rana Al Alawi, Mariam Turki and Hannah Al Khalifa will be jetting off to the US this week to compete against the world’s top female triathletes in the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
The trio has been training intensively for the past few weeks in anticipation of the event featuring an energy-sapping swim, gruelling cycle ride and pounding run to the finish line.
They qualified to compete in the championship held in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 9, after completing last year’s Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship.
On the following day, the men’s race will take place and Bahrain will be represented by Mohammed Isa, Khalid Buallay and Jasim Al Bastaki.
More than 3,000 athletes from around the world will compete in the weekend’s action. They also qualified through earlier IRONMAN 70.3 events.
The Bahrain athletes, who will be racing as individuals with the aim of carrying the kingdom’s flag high for all to see at the end, are being sponsored by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, chairman of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and president of Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC). A sports fanatic, triathlete and Ironman competitor himself, Shaikh Nasser offered to sponsor them to attend the world championships.
Rana, 25, a legal counsel from A’ali, said: “Each member of the travelling party has fought fervently to reach their goals and achieve personal bests. They are admirable, humble and athletic.”
“The women of the team have come from backgrounds with basically no training prior to Ironman, and now they consistently appear at the top of their age categories, or overall winners,” added Rana.
“We’d like to thank Shaikh Nasser for his continued support and encouragement, most especially his support. We appreciate all the positive feedback we have been receiving since it was announced that we would be participating in the world championships. The motivation that we have received from everyone has been amazing.”
Rana, who was the second Bahraini woman finisher of the Middle Eastern Ironman, has been training an hour or more, seven-days-a-week, in preparation. She has always loved running throughout her Ibn Khuldoon National School days and she carried that through to adulthood.
She said: “I wasn’t very sporty, but running was a joy to me and allowed me to stay fit without having to play contact sports. I never ran competitively as I wasn’t training consistently. It was only in 2015 that I felt like I needed some structure in my life that I decided to start training properly. It raised my confidence, my overall fitness level, and allowed me to be organised with a busy schedule.”
Rana started participating in triathlons and duathlons including an Ironman event in 2016. In Bahrain Ironman 70.3, she came out first in the 18-24 age category, second as a Bahraini woman and third as a GCC woman.
She is excited to be participating in the Chattanooga race. She said: “Thousands of participants who have qualified either professionally or through their age categories will flock to Chattanooga to participate in one of the largest triathlon races in the world.
“The event will comprise of a swim, bike and run and cover a distance of 1.9kms, 90kms, and 21.1kms respectively, a whopping total of 113kms in distance.
“This race will also give me a chance to see what the professionals go through on a regular basis. It will be the experience of a lifetime in an electric atmosphere. I want to know what it feels like to cross the finish line and successfully finish one of the most prestigious races in the world.”
Known throughout the Southeastern US as the Scenic City due to its proximity to Lookout Mountain, striking riverfront and vibrant downtown, Chattanooga lures athletes with its dramatic backdrop, idyllic weather and low-key southern charm.
The swim will start and finish at Ross’s Landing. Athletes can expect a challenging course as they set off in a clockwise direction across the Tennessee River. After making a right turn at the first buoy, athletes will swim up river 860m before ferrying across and back down to Ross’s Landing.
The cycle course takes riders five miles south of town before beginning the 3.5-mile climb up Lookout Mountain on Ochs Highway. Athletes can expect incredible views as they ride along the top before a quick decent down Hwy 136 before turning to head back north. As athletes near the end of the loop they will get the opportunity to ride through historic Chickamauga before making the final stretch back into the city’s downtown. Total elevation gain for the ride is 3442ft/1049m.
Athletes will have a chance to see the Scenic City as they complete two loops through downtown Chattanooga, the Tennessee Riverwalk, Veterans Bridge, North Shore, Walnut Street Bridge and the beautiful Riverfront Parkway. The final stretch will bring athletes back down Riverfront Parkway to Ross’s Landing. Total elevation gain for the two loop run is 297m.
Andrew Messick, chief executive officer for IRONMAN, said: “The professional field set to compete is unquestionably one of the deepest in recent history. Chattanooga will no doubt be an excellent host to the best talent from around the world as they converge on the Scenic City next month.
“We are all extremely excited to debut this new two-day format allowing for both women and men to have their day of competition and celebration.”
Hannah, 27, who lives in Riffa, who has Bahraini and Scottish roots, is also delighted to be taking on the challenge. The architectural consultant who is the first Bahraini female to cross the finish line in the Middle Eastern Ironman, said: “It is such a great opportunity to be able to go to a world championship race.
“The first year I qualified, I was nowhere near qualifying in my age group but thanks to Shaikh Nasser’s initiative, I was able to go to Australia and participate in a world class race. This changed my year and my life. I would not have become as dedicated as I am if it wasn’t for that opportunity.
“My aim is to have a great race and I would like to better my personal best time.”
Hannah, who lived in Bahrain until the age of 12 and went to the British School of Bahrain before moving to Scotland, was always into sport as a child, participating in hockey, netball, tennis and rounders at school.
She started running seriously in April 2015 and did a half marathon with friends with five weeks of training. The race was in Hackney in London. She fell in love with the atmosphere of the event and continued her journey.
She has completed three-half marathons, three-Ironman 70.3 and one International Triathlon Union (ITU) maxi distance race as well as a number of local shorter distance events with the Bahrain Triathlon Association League and Bahrain Road Runners.
Hannah said: “In the first Ironman 70.3 race I did in Bahrain in 2015, I managed to sneak into the top five Bahraini women’s category. Since then, I have come in the top three in my age group in a number of local races. And, in the 2016 Bahrain 70.3 Ironman I was the fastest Bahraini women. I absolutely love this sport and I can see myself training and competing in it for the rest of my life.”
Hannah has been training every day with the group and coach Greer Sansom as part of the G Trains Tri Group. “We have so much fun together and it’s a pleasure to train with them. We also push each other well.
“I swim three to four times a week, and I usually cycle outdoors twice a week and twice indoors,” explained Hannah. “I run off the bike twice a week, as well as a long run and a speed work run. I have recently changed to a plant-based diet and I just try to make sure I’m getting enough food to fuel my workouts.”
Mariam, 33, a banker who lives in Riffa Views, had trained with Sansom for a year but now is working on her own. The full-time mum trains a minimum of 14-hours-a-week, depending on her work schedule, and trains with the group when she can. She started running almost two years ago and has completed the Bahrain and Dubai Ironman 70.3. She was the fourth Bahraini overall female to finish in Bahrain and the first place GCC female.
She has never competed in a world championship and is excited to be participating in Chattanooga, adding: “I hope to gain experience from this race. The people we will be racing against are super strong and pros and probably have been doing it for years. I’m going for fun this time because I love it!
“I’m excited to be racing alongside this group from Bahrain as well as they are great people who are so kind, helpful and encouraging.
“I also want to say, that I never thought my body could achieve so much until I started racing. I think everyone should try to challenge themselves in some way that is related to sport, something they enjoy and love. Having a commitment or some kind of discipline to follow on a daily basis makes you look forward to something. Also mothers can do it. I can!”
All the competitors believe royal support for the sport has been invaluable. Rana added: “Shaikh Nasser started an epidemic in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a healthy obsession with sport and well-being. I have seen an exponential growth in people wanting to do any sort of sporting activity, whether it is triathlon or horse riding, or golf.
“I’d like to continue this trend and help bring more women into sport, in order to encourage a healthier lifestyle.”
