RIYADH: For many, summer in Saudi Arabia is a time for relaxing on the couch, turning on the air conditioning and watching other people play sports on TV, with those who dare to challenge this approach often ending up with heat stroke.
Still, running clubs in the Kingdom are busier than ever and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Seema Ghannam, who regularly attends Riyadh Road Runner club meetings, told Arab News: “You can stay active wherever you are. There is no limit to movement wherever you go because you already have hands, arms and legs. That's what you were born to do, to keep moving.”
Comprised of different age groups and nationalities, the Riyadh Road Runner started with a warm-up, then moved on to strength training and then ran laps around the court. (Supplied)
Until recent years, physical activity outside of schools and designated soccer teams was almost non-existent in the kingdom. People were discouraged by the lack of facilities, suitable outdoor spaces and hot weather. Now everything is changing. From the growing number of padel courts to the new projects on Sports Boulevard, physical activity is on the rise, and running is no exception.
To find out how these runners maintain their routines in the heat, Arab News visited Riyadh Road Runners, founded in 1978, at one of the club's Monday meetings at 7.30pm at Eid Villas Compound. Runners did laps, stair climbs and full body workouts.
The group, made up of different ages and nationalities, started with a warm-up, then moved on to strength training and then ran laps around the court, focusing on proper technique.
FASTFACTS
• Until recent years, physical activity outside of schools and designated football teams was almost non-existent in the Kingdom.
• Everything is changing now. From the growing number of padel courts to the new projects on Sports Boulevard, physical activity is on the rise.
Trainer Amr Hafez has runners occasionally break up their runs with bodyweight and stair exercises to increase endurance and muscle strength. The session ends with the last round of the entire area. At the end of a very sweaty workout, runners take a dip in the pool to cool off.
Ghannam, who is also a yoga teacher and swimming instructor, added running to her exercise routine two years ago. She said she likes Hafez's holistic approach to the body, training abs, hips, glutes and thighs.
“We focus on learning different types of running, how to run, how to position your toes, what shoes you should use.”
Riyadh Road Runners, Eid Villas Compound. (Photo: Mayas Al-Ahmadi)
Ghannam said she likes to run outside because “you want your skin and body to get used to the temperature.” But in order to handle the heat, runners should choose a time that is best for them, either at night or early in the morning.
Hafez, a national sales manager at a Saudi food company, has been training with the Riyadh Road Runners for more than three years. He has three key rules when running in the summer. One is staying well hydrated, the second is breathing control and the third – to our dismay – high intensity interval training.
The trainer said that when he first started running, he used martial arts moves as part of his training, a fitness trick he learned from his first running coach.
Riyadh Road Runners, Eid Villas Compound. (Photo: Mayas Al-Ahmadi)
“Runners need to build all their muscles to have great ability,” he said. “Combining strength with conditioning helps people develop long-distance running ability.”
Hafez said he thought jogging served no purpose and was only a means of punishment when the school coach thought someone was slacking. He never imagined he would one day run a marathon or teach other people to do the same.
“Most of the team when they started couldn't even run 1k,” he said.
Omar Al-Ansari, the coach of Riyadh's R7 club, has completed six marathons. R7 runs in Wadi Hanifa where the site offers protection from the heat.
“The trails are naturally shaded by trees and the breeze from the lake provides a 3-4 degree temperature difference from the rest of the city,” he said.
Like the Riyadh Road Runners, R7 emphasizes staying hydrated. “Always run with water, take electrolytes to preserve what is lost through sweat,” Al-Ansari said.
He also advises runners to wear light-colored clothing, finish training before sunrise or after sunset, and choose a garden or wadi as a location, or exercise indoors.
“And never forget the sunscreen,” he added.
Many runners told Arab News that there is no longer any excuse for inactivity in the kingdom.
“We are seeing a wider awareness of the importance of an active lifestyle in the country, and despite the inclement weather in summer, there are ways to achieve this,” Al-Ansari said.
Hafez offered this simple suggestion to Arab News: “Start by walking and go from there.”
