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Runner Hadya Fathallah, who last year proudly represented the kingdom in one of the world’s top marathons, will be returning to New York City to put her running skills to the test with the hopes of improving on her time, as well as inspiring others to take up the sport.
The former Bahrain Bayan School student, who lives in A’ali, is thrilled to be running in the 26.2 miles (42.195km) marathon which featured 55,00 finishers last year and attracted almost double that number applying to participate.
The marathon is held on the first Sunday of November and attracts professional competitors and amateurs from all over the globe and due to its popularity; participation is chosen largely by a lottery system.
Hadya, who works in tech and international security, said: “New York is probably my favourite city in the world. I have such great memories there. I’d signed up for a few marathons to run with friends in the past but always ended up getting too busy to train and compete and I’m kind of happy that my first ended up being in a city I love.
“For a couple of years now I’d been applying for the New York Marathon lottery seeing as I was not fast enough to qualify at that stage and when I got the wild card I made myself a promise to compete no matter what.
“Now I’m going back and again and I’m so excited to have luckily received another lottery ticket to participate.
“People are like: ‘You are doing New York again?’ It sounds silly but I’m a bit of a creature of habit and I also want to see how I will fair out this time around. My first one was all about, let me see if I can survive and simply complete a marathon.
“Now I know that I can and my thinking is more about, let me see if I can do it differently, maybe train a little better, maybe get a better time and, most importantly, enjoy it a little more.”
“Ultimately, when you are doing your first marathon you are still stressed, although I had a fairly good idea what the course was like having watched numerous race videos and even read a book on the New York Marathon while training.”
Hadya completed last year’s race, which takes runners through the five boroughs of New York City in 4:29:38.
“It is not an amazing time by any measure but I was super happy because my plan was to finish my first marathon within five hours and it is also eight minutes faster than the average finish time for that marathon, so I was pleased,” she explained.
“I trained for about three- and-a-half months. Seeing as the bulk of my training period was in the summer and the weather in Bahrain is not suitable for long distance running outdoors due to the heat and humidity, I ended up having to train on a gym treadmill.
“While solitary treadmill training was a nightmare at first, it ended up becoming a cherished and soothing personal ritual. I learned to zone out and concentrate on the running for hours.
“It is not necessarily an easy feat training for a marathon but anyone with two functional feet and some discipline to put in the hours can do it.”
During her stay in The Big Apple a week before the race, she was delighted that the weather was pleasant and dry. However, on race day it rained for the whole duration of the event and was cold by Bahraini standards at about 13c.
Hadya said: “I crossed the finish line drenched and shivering but I felt amazing. The race ends in Central Parks to the awesome cheers and encouragement from the crowds of onlookers, it a feeling I’m unlikely to forget.
“However, it was actually easier than I thought it would be. Like I said, I had trained and prepared alone for the race and in doing so I think I built mental resilience necessary to also travel and race on my own.
“People are on the sides of the road cheering, there are bands playing, choirs singing, music and kids high-fiving you. I wasn’t bored for a single second. That made every minute of the race a fresh, new, and enjoyable experience. It really carried runners through to the finish line.”
Hadya has upped her training regimen for the new challenge. The athlete is no stranger to training and hard work as she has always had a ‘can-do-attitude’ and an affinity to sport since ever since she was at school.
She played sports in all levels of primary, middle, and high school and also played co-ed soccer recreationally in University of North Texas where she did her undergraduate degree in Political Science and International relations. She also has a Masters in War Studies from Kings College in London and another Masters in Public Administration with a focus on international security from the Kennedy School at Harvard.
Upon returning to Bahrain after completing her studies, she joined the Women’s National Basketball team and had the honour of representing the kingdom at numerous championships.
Hadya started running in 2014 after being encouraged by her younger sister, Fatima, who had, a couple of years earlier, joined the Bahrain Road Runners.
Hadya said: “I was recovering in 2013 and the first half of 2014 from reconstructive foot surgery but was itching to get back to being active. In 2014, Bahrain was gearing up to host its first international 70.3 triathlon so I really started running to compete in my first triathlon. It wasn’t a passion or something I really understood at the time but I have now grown to love it.”
She actually competed in Challenge Bahrain in 2014 and Ironman Bahrain in 2015 before attempting a marathon.
“My aim from running is not just to continue living a healthy and active life, but also to continue challenging myself,” she explained. “I truly believe that sports, competitive and endurance sports especially, are among the most extreme human exploits, you push yourself to limits you didn’t previously conceive of.
“They also provide extraordinary sensory experiences and a great outlet to strengthen leadership, cooperation, teamwork skills and in addition to resilience and perseverance. They are amazing for personal growth and betterment, in my opinion.”
Hadya’s dream is to one day run the Boston Marathon, a race that is close to her heart since she called Boston home for a few years and was also there when the terrorist attack occurred.
On April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs detonated 12 seconds and 210 yards apart at 2.49pm, near the finish line of the annual race, killing three people and injuring several hundred others, including 16 who lost limbs.
Hadya said: “I lived in Boston and it is a city that I love dearly. The attack happened only a couple of metres from my home. So the race and the city are sentimental to me.
“It happened while I was on the train getting home. If I had not been attending a late meeting I would have been walking out of the station to my apartment past where the bombs detonated.”
While Hayda is concentrating on running in the Big Apple on November 4 she’ll be able to seek advice about any possible Boston challenge from fellow Bahraini runner May Al Haji who finished this year’s marathon last Monday in under four hours.
The 36-year-old from Isa Town timed a respectable 3:52:51 and runs for Zain Racing, the Bahrain telecom company’s in-house team.
