DIBBA, OMAN // For some, the Wadi Bih Run is about the challenge. For most, it is about the company.
No one knows this better than John Gregory, the man who founded the run in 1993 with a small group of friends ready for a little conversation, some overnight camping and the adventure of racing over a mountain from Ras al Khaimah to Dibba, Oman.
"The idea was that you got up a bit smelly," said Mr Gregory. "Just to be out in the open and get away from the sanitised events which are high profile with big prizes. Just do something as rough as you could possible make it and as natural as you could possibly make it."
The 72-kilometre race, which took place yesterday, was the first mountain race in the UAE and has become a classic. It had 140 five-member teams and 16 solo runners this year. It has come a long way from a its humble beginnings with a few volunteers and 14 teams, who make the 900-metre ascent to the top of Wadi al Baih and down through Wadi Khab al Shamsi to be rewarded with a home cooked stew.
"The idea was that there would be no prizes for winning teams," said Mr Gregory. "It was more of an Olympic idea of non-competition but obviously everybody tries to run the fastest they can."
Today the race draws competitive athletes across the Gulf and this year's fastest team, the Abra Striders Experiment, completed the run in four hours and 27 minutes. The fastest solo runner, Darryl Chiles, finished in 6 hours and 35 minutes.
The run now begins and ends in Dibba, Oman because of tighter border controls. Of course, it was difficult to pass over the mountain in the early days because roads would often be washed out by heavy rainfall.
The grit of the race is part of its charm and the route meanders through boulder strewn valleys with verdant hanging plants and mountain walls graffitied in the name of teenagers who live in the wadi.
Runners share the road with bearded farmers, canes raised in friendly salute, and goats destined for a biryani dinner.
Essential to the experience is a night camping on Dibba beach before the run, though now runners are so competitive that some turn their nose up at fire-roasted potatoes lest they affect their performance the next day.
"Basically the whole idea was that you would have a group of like-minded people to come and camp together, meet new people," said Mr Gregory. "I mean life's moved on a bit from there."
For about 11 years, Mr Gregory managed the run. As the event grew through word of mouth, he secured sponsorship from Sun and Sand Sports for the run's coveted T-shirts, designed by a friend. To feed the growing number of runners, Mr Gregory would load up his three-ton work pickup with curry from RAK's Taj Mahal Restaurant and await runners on the other side of the mountain.
The post-race buffet has been held at the Golden Tulip hotel since it opened on Dibba Beach a few years ago, adding a little glamour to the run.
Mr Gregory, originally from Britain, has lived in RAK since 1981 though intended to stay two years "only". Now past retirement age, he holds the community's respect as a prolific rock climber, a passion that started in England when he was 18 and led him to alpine mountaineering.
He was on the team that made the first ascent of the Fortress in Chile in 1968, an ice-choked mountain of about 2,400 metres. In the UAE, he has made the first ascent of about 300 climbing routes and can still be found on the rocks most weekends, even in summer.
"He's a classy and humble guy," said Andrew LaBonte, 24, a RAK-based climber. "He's not the sort of person that sings his own praise despite being extremely accomplished. He does whatever he can to build the rock climbing and outdoor community in general, Wadi Bih is just one thing he does."
Mr Gregory has run the race about four times and biked it three times. This year, he did a little of both. He had support from his son Ian, 32, who drove from Dubai at 9pm after playing rugby for the Hurricanes against Muscat.
The Wadi Bih Run is now managed by John Young, who lives in Dubai and worked on the run since its beginning.
azacharias@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
