واحد وعشرون ادمان / جوليا حداد - الجزء الثاني

Twenty-One Addictions

It was May 2018. I heard from a friend at a cycling event that there was a group organizing several runs a week called Running AmmanI was intrigued by the idea and started looking them up on social media. I reached out to them and asked if I could join them, and they welcomed me. Since I told them how slow I was, they invited me to join one of their runs on the track at a sports stadium so I wouldn’t lose sight of them. I went to the track, met some of the group, and ran with one of the foreign members named Jerry. We ran ten kilometers together, and I didn’t feel tired at all. Afterward, I ran with the group in the Jabal al-Lweibdeh area, and, as expected, I got lost on the way back—so much so that I even received a warm round of applause from the group members when I reached the finish line. Then we all headed to a nearby café for a cup of coffee. I was drawn to the idea of running with the group and sticking to a weekly exercise routine, so I started running with them regularly.

One Thursday evening during the hot month of August that year, I came home from work feeling exhausted by the pressures of the job, so I decided to go for a run, without planning or thinking it through. I put on my workout clothes and headed out. I ran along the sidewalks from street to street to avoid the weekend traffic, and then returned home after running twenty-one kilometers in two hours and sixteen minutes—a huge improvement over any time I’d ever achieved before. This was the first time Run I run Half Marathon with no stop.

Then October came, and the excitement of racing returned after a break that was by no means short. I participated in Race Amman Half Marathon with a Group Running AmmanThe race experience with them was completely different from previous ones; there were plenty of celebrations and photos after the race ended, and plenty of encouragement and enthusiasm from team members toward one another. It was truly a unique experience, marked by the excitement and cheering during the award ceremony, and the joy of all the runners—regardless of age group or varying physical and mental abilities—at their achievements. As for my friend Mona, she decided this time to enjoy the 10-kilometer race.

The next event was a 100-kilometer bike race. I was incredibly excited as I looked forward to my first bike race, especially since I was the first girl to register for the mountain bike category that year. But unfortunately, as the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” During a non-athletic activity, I tripped and fell, breaking the fingers on my left hand, so I ended up in a cast. According to the doctor, it wasn’t possible for me to participate in the bike race, but he allowed me to take part in the Eila Half Marathon—provided I was extremely careful, because any fall while running could have very negative consequences for my cast-bound arm. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so I decided to do a practice run before the race to see how it felt to run with the cast. I started running and felt numbness take over my arm, but I kept going, running without paying any attention to it until the numbness went away. To top off the joy of that day, I set a new personal best in the 10-kilometer run, which gave me a huge boost to participate in the half-marathon with a group Running Amman which has become my second family—a family that loves and supports running, unlike my own family, who never stop wondering why I run such long distances.

Then came 2019, and I had to undergo surgery on my hands to have metal rods implanted, so I stopped running for about two and a half months, but that didn’t stop me from participating in the Dead Sea Half Marathon and setting a new personal best for that distance. The time difference between my 2018 and 2019 Dead Sea races was about an hour and a few minutes. Then, carried away by my enthusiasm that year, I decided to participate in the Full Moon Marathon in Wadi Rum—one of the most beautiful experiences an athlete can have. Running itself is a boundless joy, but running in the desert at night under the light of a full moon, wearing a headlamp and long socks over my running shoes, adds so much excitement, beauty, and a sense of uniqueness to the experience. My desire to participate in as many races as possible has become almost like an addiction! That same year, I also participated in the Petra Desert Marathon, another race I highly recommend to everyone. Despite its difficulty, it’s a unique experience that words simply cannot describe.

As 2019 drew to a close, a group of team members decided to Running Amman Participating in the Malta Marathon—I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take part, but as soon as I found out that my friend Saja had signed up to run the full marathon, I confirmed my participation with the team members for that trip. I wanted to be at the finish line to cheer her on the moment she crossed it and be among the first to congratulate her there in Malta. I ran the half-marathon and crossed the finish line before she did, We were cheering on every team member who crossed the finish line, taking photos, shouting, and singing in celebration of their achievement in a race spanning forty-two kilometers. As for Saja, she received the loudest cheers and encouragement—more than anyone who had finished before her. Seeing the team members cover the final meters of the marathon—especially those running their very first marathon—filled me with hope and enthusiasm that one day, perhaps, I too will be among those runners crossing the finish line of a marathon.

Circumstances dictated that the Malta race would be the last race of 2020, as a curfew was imposed in the capital, Amman, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Following the lifting of that curfew after about two months of stay-at-home orders—by which time my enthusiasm for running had begun to wane—a group Running Amman By organizing a virtual sports event, in which participants were divided into about ten teams, each consisting of five or six runners, each of whom ran specific mandatory distances or for a set number of minutes over the course of an entire week, as well as optional distances if they wanted to earn more points for their team, This race came at the perfect time, as it took place during a week marked by a succession of negative news on both a personal and global level; the race had an extremely positive effect in helping me take my mind off what was going on around me. On the last day of the race, the pressure had built up to the point where I began to doubt my ability to run a long distance like the other team members. But because I didn’t want to let them down, I decided to split my runs into four segments of five kilometers each. I resolved to think of one positive thing during each kilometer. I made a list of positive thoughts and wrote them on my arm so I wouldn’t have to remember them while running. It was an experience that brought many benefits to my athletic and social life, and it helped me clear my mind, reassess my priorities, and refocus on what matters most.

I didn’t want that sporting event to end; I enjoyed every single moment of it. So, after it was over, I decided I would keep running—that I would run every day for a whole month, covering at least five kilometers each day. It was a truly enjoyable month; every day I’d pick a new place to run, I’d look at the map, searching for a place with lots of greenery or an unfamiliar area. As soon as my friends found out I was running every day, some of them were inspired to join me in running five kilometers for the first time in their lives—and some of my students even joined me for runs too! These runs were special because of their spontaneity, the variety of locations, and the people who joined me. But what encouraged me most to stick with my daily running routine was when my friend Shadi joined me on the third day.

Those days flew by for both of us; as soon as the thirty-first run came around, we felt a deep sadness, as if we were saying goodbye to a loved one. We had run every single day for a month; we didn’t want that joy to end, so we decided to keep going for a few more days. Those days kept stretching on and on until we reached one hundred—one hundred days of continuous running, which we capped off with a 21-kilometer run to mark the conclusion of that special sporting event. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off without any injuries, but to my surprise, I felt an unusual burst of energy that day, so I decided to run two more days with Shadi until he finished his hundred runs, bringing my total number of consecutive running days to one hundred and two. That evening, I talked to myself and begged my inner voice not to ask me to keep running to reach two hundred days—and that’s exactly what happened.

Today, after this journey with sports, what keeps me running is focusing on enjoying it—enjoying every run and every achievement—without comparing myself to others. I remember how running has been, and will continue to be, my remedy in times of distress, my source of energy, and my tangible proof that age is not the only determinant of a person’s health.

This was Julia’s story with running and sports, but Julia isn’t just an athlete and a runner—she’s also a creative person. In 2019, she was unable to participate in the Amman Marathon due to an injury she sustained a few days before the race. But because she is Julia—and because she has such a unique personality—she refused to let that race pass her by without leaving her mark. She gathered her thoughts, picked up her pen, and wrote words of encouragement for her teammates. She was the first one on the race course that day, holding up her distinctive messages to all the participants, encouraging them and motivating them to keep going. I didn’t know her back then, but she caught my attention—and that of all the participants—with what she did. When I was writing this story, I asked her, “How did you come up with the idea to do that, and how were you able to keep going when you were the only cheerleader on the racecourse?” She didn’t just want to participate in the race—even though she was a cheerleader and not a runner—but she also wanted to foster a culture in our stadiums and sporting events that encourages cheering on and supporting athletes.

Another equally remarkable feat was accomplished by our exceptional runner: During the 2019 Christmas season, due to personal circumstances, she wanted to give her family members a unique gift inspired by her own ideas and her passion for sports, so she went on a number of runs through the streets of Amman, using GPS track maps to create special designs and shapes for the holiday season. And since Christmas is just around the corner, we’d like to say to Julia and everyone celebrating the holiday, “May you and all your loved ones have a wonderful year.”