Emirati athlete Abdulrahman Al Hosani began running marathons more than a decade after his recovery from a football related injury. Now training for the illustrious Ironman Race, he tells HEALTH about his passion for running.
Finding Balance
“I work as an Aircraft Engineer in Turbine Services and Solutions, Mubadala Aerospace and recently, have acquired the Operations Manager position. Also, I am representing the UAE in different international competitions in Triathlons and Marathons. I have an average of four hours training a day, divided in two sessions. One session is early morning before going to work. The second session is after work. My long training sessions are on weekends as I can start early morning and manage to complete all sessions during the morning in order to have time with family later on.”
The Biggest Challenge— Ironman
“Running in a marathon for 42 kilometers is challenging as you need to follow a good training schedule and a healthy diet as well, while also keeping in mind not to miss any training sessions during the period that you are preparing for an upcoming event. Most important is to keep hydrated during training as we are doing long distances. Training for an Ironman will be a similar preparation; the difference will be in adding bike and swim sessions with the run.”
Leading a Healthy Lifestyle
“In order to support the quality training done, I am following a healthy meal plan with a healthy balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It’s important to keep up a healthy lifestyle and to keep sports as a passion as it makes life more interesting and fun.”
The Journey
“In the last five years of my triathlon competitions, I have done many International Triathlon Union races around the world representing the UAE and also, I qualified twice to the World Championships and am hoping for better achievement in the future. In order to reach our goals, we should start b managing our time. Then we should create a plan and be serious about achieving and
understanding the importance of instilling self-discipline.”
The Government of Dubai Supports a Healthy Lifestyle
“Our government is supporting sports in all different ways by building several amazing running and cycling tracks and also, amazing sports facilities such as Olympic swimming pools. All of these are giving us more motivation in keeping sports as part of our daily routine and is also encouraging others and motivating them to take part as well.”
Health Advice
“Just start to think about how to live a healthier life by doing things with more enjoyment and make running and exercise as your stress reliever of choice.”
