British runner sets new record in seven-emirates challenge

A British endurance athlete has knocked more than an hour off the world record for running 630km across all seven emirates of the UAE.

Harry Amos, 38, completed his gruelling ultra-marathon challenge in the early hours of Thursday, in a time of five days, 21 hours and 30 minutes.

At a little after 1.30am, he became only the third runner to officially complete the route, that began in Fujairah on Sunday and ended at the UAE border with Saudi Arabia. Surviving on just a few hours of sleep each night, Mr Amos was supported by a team from Spinneys and M42, which provided medical support from Healthpoint Hospital and Mubadala Health Dubai.

The event aims to raise about Dh50,000 ($13,615) for the International Diabetes Federation to support diabetes care in the UAE. Speaking just hours after crossing the finish line near Al Batha, Mr Amos said the run was far more challenging than he expected.

More than a physical test

“I've been in a kind of semi-hallucinogenic state for about three days because of the lack of sleep,” Mr Amos told The National. “Wednesday was a massive day, around 130km, which was a very daunting task with how I was feeling. At 70km, I thought there was no way I could finish another 60km.”

The psychological test was passed with flying colours, largely thanks to his support crew, including his wife and running coach Nick Coats. The run was fuelled by foods that could be converted quickly into energy, such as white bread with butter and jam, pastries, noodles and lots of high energy gels.

As the final miles began to take their toll, he was set a goal of reaching 100km by 8.30pm on Wednesday. He was reminded of that at his lowest ebb, but once that milestone was reached, he was reminded he had another 30km to go. As it was the last leg to the finish line, he was able to eat up the final stretch before collapsing in a heap on the desert ground.

“I genuinely didn't expect it to be as tough or so tiring,” said Mr Amos, who said the race was considerably harder than his previous endurance challenge of rowing across the Pacific Ocean as part of a crew. “My wife was there at the finish and everyone was elated and hugging each other. About 10 minutes after finishing, I just couldn't stand up any more and I'm still unable to walk. As for the official record, as far as we know, I'm only the third to finish, although there have been a few more who have completed the same route but not submitted an official time. We've got all the witnesses, so everything's good to go. I just need to get it on to digital and upload it on to the portal for the Guinness World Record.”

How preparation and discipline helped

Breaking the run up into bite-sized distances helped deal with the mental strength required to run huge distances, day after day. Physical and mental fatigue played a major role, with Mr Amos supervised through each step of the challenge by Mr Coats, a running coach and former British soldier.

“We were practicing long distances with a low heart rate to try and keep the stress on his body as low as possible,” said Mr Coats, who also ran a 50km leg of the challenge. “It was very important just to be in that endurance zone, and not start to burn unnecessary calories or create unnecessary stress. The temperature only went up to about 24°C in the daytime, but dropped to around 7ºC at night so we had to try to keep him warm. We take each stage by stage, section by section. If you're looking to achieve anything, it becomes overwhelming if you're trying to look at the mountain top, doesn't it?”