Blazing a trail

Trail-blazing runner Fatema Hussain recently became the first Bahraini to qualify and run at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), a gruelling race considered to be the world summit of ultra-trail running.

The 30-year-old saw ‘all the seasons’ in less than a day as she completed the 101-kilometre Courmayeur – Champex – Chamonix (CCC) course with more than 6,100 metres of elevation gain in 22 hours and 24 minutes.

“I have been running since 2013, but I started training for longer distances less than four years ago,” the endurance athlete, who also works as a senior process engineer at Bapco told GulfWeekly.

“Ultra-trail running is a completely different sport than road running. With these runs, the elevation gain is a very important metric because it tells you the steepness you can expect, as well as the amount of time required to ascend and descend across the terrain.”

Trail running combines running, and, where there are steep hills, hiking. It is generally run on any unpaved surface and usually takes place on hiking trails, often in mountainous terrain, where there can be much larger ascents and descents.

The UTMB started in Courmayeur in Italy, passed through Champex-Lac in Switzerland and ended in Chamonix in France, all around the Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe.

To qualify for this race, Hussain completed other ultra-trail races around the world in Italy, Oman, USA, Turkey and Spain.

Her first ever ultra-marathon, which are each longer than 42km, was at Bear Mountain in New York State, USA.

She has also completed the Salomon Cappadocia Ultra-Trail - a 120km race, with more than 3,700m of elevation gain in Turkey - where she was placed the sixth-fastest woman among an international field of runners.

Just four days later, she completed a 300km cycling ride in a day in Bahrain with her cycling team, the Cyclones.

The UTMB, which features high altitude routes and difficult weather conditions, requires very good training, suitable equipment and a real capacity for personal autonomy.

“We are required to carry gear to help us cope with any situation we encounter – and my pack added about 5.5kg of weight,” Hussain explained.

“This included extra layers of clothing in case of colder weather, a waterproof jacket, an extra pair of trousers, waterproof gloves, 1.5 litres of water, a couple of headlamps and batteries, as well as a first aid kit.

“I also carried food supplies including dates, date bars and plenty of carbohydrate and electrolyte replenishments.”

Training for these races is no easy feat, especially in Bahrain, where there are few hills to surmount. Hussain has a holistic training regimen which includes finding the highest hill in Sakhir and bolting up and down it repeatedly.

Alongside this is her gym work which includes running on the treadmill with the maximum incline, as well as cycling.

“The toughest part for these races is the training beforehand, and knowing exactly what to expect,” she surmised.

“With the UTMB, the first climb was the steepest. Even though 2,200 people started the race together, at the 70km mark, there were more and more bouts of me running alone.

“At the 30km point, my ankle started hurting, so I had to adjust my gait accordingly and at the 60km mark, my stomach was not able to take any solid food, forcing me to switch to electrolyte drinks.”

In addition to her endurance training and running, Hussain is also part of the first batch of the National Women’s Cycling Team, which was assembled in February this year.

For now, she is resting her legs, but has plans to find and run longer and harder marathons. A small community of fellow trail runners called the Bahrain Ultra Trail Runners (BUTR) has also been training with Husain, and with enough practice, they aim to make off-road running look as smooth as butter.