Wadi Showka is a great area with its rugged mountain terrain, deep cut wadis, and pristine seasonal pools. It has everything to make any outdoor person get excited. Friday night it was the scene for Urban Ultra’s first trail running event of the 2016/17 season. I believe there were more than 200 competitors running in the 10K, 20K, and 30K events. It was a night run that kicked off at 7pm just as the night sky had awoken. It was a hot evening as mid-September in UAE still can feel like an oven at times and this night was no different.
For this event, I had a few familiar faces running with me: Francois Fung, Alex Grosskord, Renee Clark, and Saskia Vulturius. We did a good job of putting ourselves in a bit of hurt before arriving at the starting line. Earlier in the Afternoon we sailed the first yachting race of the season on Team Diablo at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. Needless to say, our bodies and muscles would have preferred sitting on the couch watching tele instead of running through a rugged, mountain wadi with oven-like temperatures….and with only a head torch to guide you through the mountain darkness. Instead though, we all tied up our trail runners, checked the batteries in our head torches, loaded up our CamelBaks with water, and set off into the dark wadi.
On this occasion I chose to run the 20K and at about 2K into the race, as we had our first ascent and my already-tired legs felt like two canisters of lead, I questioned whether running a 20K at that moment was a wise decision. I have never been one for quitting or giving up so I accepted the fact that I had a long night of running through a lonely, dark wadi ahead of me.
I hit the first 5K checkpoint and was feeling a bit better. The legs had warmed up, the lungs were pumping the hot air in and out, and the heart beat and breathing has synced up to a nice rhythm; I was on my pace and in a groove. I had a split second thought of turning at that point and just doing the 10K but then once again I told myself that I had planned for and signed up for the 20K so I better stick to the plan. I carried on and cruised past the 5K checkpoint into the dark abyss. Since the majority of the runners did turn at the 5K checkpoint, I was now completely on my own running through the dark wadi with only my head torch for a glimmer of light and the odd camel or goat for some company.
As I approached the 10K checkpoint my spirits were lifted knowing that I had finished half of the race, but then I quickly realized, I still had half of the race to go. The guys at the checkpoint however, had a nice bonfire blazing and dance music cranking out. Psychologically this did give a lift and was a welcome rest to fuel up on some oranges, bananas, and electrolytes. With a quick turn, I was headed back down the wadi that I had just pushed myself up.
The return was a bit slower and definitely more painful. Wadi Showka is a very tough wadi as it has a rocky wadi bed with boulders of all sizes, loose, soft gavel, hard-packed sand, loose, desert sand and deep ruts. Oh yeah, there are the steep drop-offs on the side of the wadi too which will see you flying quickly down if you have a misstep off of the side. By now my feet were in pain from the pounding they were taking from the wadi but interestingly enough the rest of my body and mind was in good form. So for the run home I played a continuous game of mind over matter; I kept my mind focusing on not focusing on my painful feet.
I have been in Wadi Showka many times so I know the terrain rather well and although I could not see exactly where I was, I knew by the turns and ascents and descents that I was nearing the finish line. As I rounded the last few turns I felt that burst of adrenaline kick in as if I had a set of afterburners I just ignited. I was able to kick the legs into high gear and empty the tanks to sail into the finish area and cross the line to the sounds of people cheering, clapping, and the ubiquitous cow bell clanking away. I had just completed the first trail run of the season, running 20K in roasting temperatures, at night, after having been yacht racing all afternoon…I was ready to go home and go to bed!
