Two friends have become the first runners from the UAE to complete the World Marathon Challenge – to run seven marathons in seven days across seven continents – finishing in just five days and 19 hours.
If that feat was not hard enough, one of the duo, James Elliot-Square, crossed the finishing line on crutches after sustaining a serious tendon injury just a quarter of the way into his Herculean challenge.
Running alongside his friend Paris Norriss, Mr Elliot-Square endured five marathons on one leg, after developing tendinitis in his hip, pelvis and ankle. He even set a world record for a marathon on crutches, with a time of 5 hours, 39 minutes and 5 seconds.
The pair set off on their opening marathon at the Ultima Base Camp in Antarctica where temperatures plunged to -15°C, before getting back into a Russian Ilyushin 76 cargo plane to travel to Cape Town to start the next marathon 15 hours later.
The challenge was as much an athletic feat as a logistical task, as runners are only able to rest during flight times, with just three hours or so between landing and starting the next race.
Both men then ran marathons in Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza in Brazil and, finally, Miami. Resting between marathons and fuelling up during travel were the biggest challenges, Mr Elliot-Square said.
“After Antarctica everything was fine,” he said. “Then basically with the lack of sleep, lack of fuel and back-to-back marathons within a few hours, when I hit South Africa I broke down. Everything just gave way, so I ended up doing it on crutches.
“The food was pretty average so we had to bring our own, but we had to get our timings right because if we started eating too far away, we ended up hungry, but if we ate too soon it would be very difficult to run on a full stomach. It made it quite a unique challenge and a bit of a painful week.”
After crossing the line in Miami, Florida, at 6am on February 6, the pair had covered 296km in less than a week, and travelled a total of 48,000km. The coldest race was Antarctica and the hottest was in Brazil, where temperatures climbed to 35°C with 80 per cent humidity.
“I've done a three-hour marathon before, but trying to do that day after day, plus all the travel, lack of fuel and injuries made it incredibly tough,” said Mr Elliot-Square.
“The marathon in Perth was particularly hard because it was in the dark, which exaggerates the loneliness. I knew I had to get through that one so I could get to Dubai for some treatment.”
Record run
The runners spent 65 hours in transit, and burnt around 42,000 calories during their efforts, but also managed to raise $52,000 for the Sovereign Art Foundation, a global charity that supports disadvantaged children through art projects.
Now back in the UAE, Mr Norriss told The National his running partner’s injury had inadvertently propelled him to set a new world record time for a marathon on crutches, beating the previous record of six hours and 24 minutes.
“In Cape Town, James had a previous injury that worsened and it ruined his day,” he said. “It reduced him to walking and finally to finish the race on crutches. With five marathons left to go, James committed to finishing the challenge, despite his injury and the pain he was in.
“This not only established him as a hero among the other competitors, but he also broke the world record twice in a week for the fastest time to complete a marathon on crutches.”
The years Ramadan fell in May
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Mountain%20Boy
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
