UAE: This expat plans to eat over 8,000 calories daily to run 630km in 6 days
When long-time UAE resident Harry Amos begins his epic 630-km run across the country's seven emirates on Friday, he hopes to draw on his military training and prior adventurous feats to complete the trek.
Aiming to eat over 8,000 calories a day, the British expat will have a group of experts travelling with him and a community of runners to keep him company over the six-day-long event. Speaking to Khaleej Times ahead of his run, he said he was feeling like a swan.
"I am trying to look calm and relaxed on the outside, but I'm paddling like mad under the surface," the ex-military man and entrepreneur said. "There are so many question marks on what will happen at various points and how my body will react. I don't know whether all the preparation I've done to date will pay off. The slightest injury, getting the nutrition wrong, or various other factors can change it."
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The 38-year-old is attempting to set a Guinness World Record by completing the trek in the fastest time and to raise awareness about the global diabetes epidemic, which is impacting the UAE as well. Throughout his run, anyone can sign up to join him at various locations and can choose to run alongside him for short distances.
"I'm inviting everybody to come and join at different legs," he said. "Just like the movie Forest Grump, I'd love to have a trail of friends, family and supporters with me on the road, and that's going to make the time go quicker."
A father of three — the youngest of whom is just 11 months old — Harry has been living in the UAE since 2016. An avid adventurer, he rowed 4,800km across the Pacific in 2023.
From Fujairah to Abu Dhabi
Harry will begin his run at 4am on Friday. Explaining how he intends to complete the walk, he said, "I will start on the beach in Fujairah and will smash up the hill towards Ras Al Khaimah. When we come down the hill, we will head west, across the other side of the Arabian Peninsula towards Ajman. Before reaching Ajman, we will touch Umm Al Quwain just in the top corner. That is about 110km on the first day."
He explained that he would run from Ajman to Dubai via Sharjah on the second day. "By the end of the day, I should be around the Jebel Ali free zone and Ghantoot area. It is all on Sheikh Zayed Road towards Abu Dhabi the next day. For almost four days, the view is not going to be particularly interesting. It will be desert on my right and a bunch of very fast trucks to my left. But at least it's flat. I wanted to get the hill done on the first day."
Harry will have about 500m elevation during the first leg of his journey. During the run, he will have a team of doctors and physiotherapists from health group M42 to travel with him, treating him for injuries. "The physio, Georgina, will use acupuncture to relieve my sore muscles and use different taping techniques to relieve my legs of blisters," he said. "I have told her that as long as there is no risk of life-long injuries, just fix me up so I can continue running."
Packing in the calories
Harry said he will be fuelling up heavily to ensure he has enough to complete his run. From packets of baby food to carb-heavy waffles and sandwiches, he will eat 8,000 active calories daily during six-day run. "My secret weapon is Ella's kitchen baby food, which comes in squeezy packs," he said. "Each pack has about 100 calories, and you can eat an entire one of those in three maybe four gulps. I also get the kind of naughty stuff on top, like energy sweets, chocolate, and jam sandwiches. The number one rule is that your mouth is always moving."
In addition to this, he will also be eating potato salad, pasta, and tuna niçoise packs. He admitted that most of the time while running, he didn't feel hungry and was often "force-feeding" himself to keep going. Spinneys is sponsoring his food during the run.
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