{"id":4993,"date":"2020-09-30T11:59:02","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T08:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urkod.com\/?p=4993"},"modified":"2026-06-23T23:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:01:15","slug":"%d8%aa%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%82%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/%d8%aa%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%82%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a9\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing the Rules of the Game \u2013 Saja Bakir \u2013 Part 2 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

2019 was a year packed with sports activities! That\u2019s when I started to feel like I was no longer a beginner; my running improved, and I was invited by the Running Amman team to join one of their groups in Race<\/a> \u201cFrom the Dead Sea to the Red Sea (Dead2Red),\u201d where I participated in one of the relay teams organized by the group. It was a team of ten runners; together, we covered a distance of 240 kilometers in about 22 hours, and we placed second among the participating teams in the half Marathon<\/a>I also participated in the Petra Desert Marathon in the half-marathon category. It was\u2014and still is\u2014one of the most beautiful races I\u2019ve ever run, thanks to the stunning views of the surrounding mountains in the Wadi Musa area. The participation of many members of the Running Amman team also played a major role in making it a truly special race that will remain etched in my memory for as long as I live. That same year, I also participated for the first time in the CrossFit Open Games. But the most significant event of that year was my decision to start training to run my first full marathon\u2014that was toward the end of 2019, a year that changed the game.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The Marathon<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ever since I started running, the idea of running a marathon has been constantly on my mind, especially after I\u2019ve competed in several half-marathons and heard a number of stories from runners who\u2019ve taken on the challenge through recorded interviews with Coach on the app Nike Run Club<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I enjoyed hearing their stories and learning about their training routines, and I benefited from their advice and learned from them about major marathons around the world and how to qualify to participate in them. This prompted me to look within myself to see if I had what it takes to undertake a similar experience. I began reading about how to prepare for a marathon and about the transformation that everyone who embarks on this journey undergoes, and about the sense of accomplishment and self-esteem that comes from overcoming the challenges posed by this type of race and the training that goes with it\u2014until I heard about the Malta trip from some friends on the team Running Amman<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I still remember exactly what was said that day during the discussion among the team members at a caf\u00e9 in the Al-Weibdeh neighborhood of Amman, after we finished our run on Friday morning. I was hesitant; I didn\u2019t know whether to choose the marathon or the half-marathon. Yazan, one of the team\u2019s founders, asked me, Running Amman<\/a>\u2026about my desire to join this adventure, and I remember that we discussed together the idea of signing up for the marathon and how confident he seemed in my ability to run a marathon. I didn\u2019t have an answer right away, but I thought to myself\u2026 Don\u2019t you want to be one of those runners whose stories about marathons you\u2019ve always heard? Don\u2019t you want to be an inspiration to other girls, just like The champion Manal Rostom<\/a> As for me, I found myself bursting with enthusiasm at the thought of taking on that challenge that evening. I went to my room, turned on my computer, and signed up for the marathon. A smile spread across my face as I sent a text message to the group members to let them know I\u2019d signed up for the marathon. I\u2019ll never forget the support I received from them that evening!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Marathon Preparations<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For those who aren\u2019t familiar with winter in Amman, it\u2019s freezing cold, especially in December and January. In this weather, I began stepping up my training in preparation for the Malta Marathon, which will take place on March 1. That was a huge challenge in itself because I wasn\u2019t used to running four times a week\u2014and not only that, but I also had to run long distances on Fridays starting at 5 a.m. But my passion and enthusiasm made me look forward to those days, so I would wake up early to go out for a run and enjoy watching the sunrise at Corridor Abdoun, then pass by Shair Zahran accompanied by Elsa, one of my friends from Running Amman<\/a>...who trained with me on Fridays; we would break the distance down into segments to make it easier for us to cover. We were so happy after we finished a 30-kilometer run together for the first time in the pouring rain. I\u2019ll also never forget the support and encouragement I received from Yazan and my friends from Running Amman<\/a> Throughout the training period, this had a profound effect on me and served as a motivation that drove me to continue my training and see the experience through to the end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The three months flew by, and the time for the long-awaited race had finally arrived! Darkness still shrouded the Salima area of Malta when I woke up that day. I quickly got ready and went out to find my friends waiting for me in the hotel lobby. We had to take a bus from Sliema to the town of \u201cMedina,\u201d where the starting line was located. We took lots of photos before the starting whistle blew, just before music began to fill the air, signaling the start of the warm-up, until the race organizers announced that the runners should head to the starting line to prepare for the race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Race<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The race began. I loved the course and I loved having the pacers there. In running races, pacers are runners who set the pace; they carry colorful balloons in different colors, each marked with a specific time to help participants finish the race within a certain time. They\u2019re called \u201cpacemakers\u201d in English. So, if you want to finish the race in four hours, for example, you should follow the runner carrying the balloon marked \u201c4:00.\u201d I didn\u2019t follow any of them, though; my goal was to enjoy the experience regardless of the time. I was at ease and enjoying the atmosphere of the race; Malta is a beautiful country I had never visited before. There were musical performances to cheer on the runners, popping up from time to time along the race course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I didn\u2019t feel tired until I reached the 33rd kilometer. I knew this point well\u2014it\u2019s what\u2019s known in the world of marathons as \u201cThe Wall.\u201d I\u2019d heard many runners talk about it, and I was overcome by an urgent desire to stop because I was so exhausted. And indeed, my pace began to slow noticeably, forcing me to walk from time to time, and every time I walked, I found it difficult to start running again. The remaining time passed slowly and painfully. I tried several times to encourage myself, reminding myself of all the training and effort I\u2019d put in\u2014and that I hadn\u2019t done all that just to give up at the end of the race. Luckily, I ran into some friends from the team, and we tried to run together to encourage each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The final stretch of the race took place in the seaside town of Salima. I tried to keep my focus on the surrounding scenery to take my mind off the exhaustion and fatigue, until the finish line came into view, where many friends were waiting for me. I was overcome by a strange mix of emotions\u2014overwhelming joy and extreme exhaustion, a deep sense of emotion and a touch of pride, tears of joy and tears of exhaustion that I tried hard to hold back. We took many photos together, then headed to meet the others for lunch after snapping a group photo with our race medals draped around our necks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Through my modest experience with sports, I\u2019ve been able to develop new positive habits that have changed my life for the better. In addition to physical exercise, sports have been\u2014and continue to be\u2014a part of my life and a way to relieve stress and tension. I spend my time running to sort through my thoughts, reflect on myself, and meditate. It has also given me greater self-confidence and introduced me to many new friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Read the first part of Saja's story Sports are a fundamental part of life<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2019 was packed with sports activities! That\u2019s when I started to feel like I was no longer a beginner; my running skills had improved, and I was invited by the Running Amman team to join one of the group\u2019s teams in the \u201cDead2Red\u201d race from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. I participated in one of the relay teams organized by the group\u2014a team of ten runners\u2014and together we covered\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,29,11],"tags":[32,16,31,14],"class_list":["post-4993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-almadrasah","category-29","category-11","tag-32","tag-16","tag-31","tag-14"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4993"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5061,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions\/5061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urkod.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}