Hamdan al Khatri has put in a valiant effort to try and provide the Sultanate with a ‘home-town’ win in the inaugural 170 km Oman by UTMB, but as the race neared its conclusion late last night, Irishman Eion Keith had overtaken the Omani and looked set to finish ahead of him around midnight. A growing crowd, however, was sure to give Al Khatri a massive hand as he arrives at the finish.
Earlier, Bhim Bahadur Gurung, an Army Sergeant from Nepal, dominated a quality field in the first of the mega events to finish yesterday at the Race village in Al Hamra, to win in a time of 5 hrs: 26 mins: 22 seconds. German Moritz Auf der Heide, a six times World Athletics competitor finished 12 minutes back while local athlete Jamal al Hatmi delighted the home crowd as he finished third in 12:47:48.
Race Director Joe Rafferty explained that “Gurung was a late entry for the event,” and after perusing his race record and checking his form, “we were very keen to have him on board.” The athlete himself said, “I was pleased to dominate the race from the front, and now I can compete in the Everest Sky Race with a lot of confidence.”
Sunmaya Budha, another Nepalese athlete said she “expected to lead, and make it hard for the chasers”, but took out the women’s 50 km event convincingly from the UK’s Holly Page, who was recovering from a broken foot. Page said she, “loved the course, the scenery and the views. I even took some photos on the way.” Another Nepalese runner, Mira Raj, finished third. Manager of the Nepalese team, Pavel Toropov said “We arrived with high expectations and the races have panned out wonderfully for us, but obviously Oman is going to be a big player on the international stage in the future.”
In the same vein, French star Romain Olivier, led throughout the 130 km event to record a stunning win in hrs, mins, secs. The Frenchman only took up running as a therapeutic element of his recovery from cancer, so he’s definitely the feel good story of the event. Romain’s wife Adrienne and young daughter Louisson were at the finish line to greet him, and he appeared emotional as he thanked Oman for the race saying, “Maybe, just maybe, I will do the big 170 race next year.” The UTMB Family Day takes place at Al Hamra today with the first event, over 10 km, at 7 am.
Text by Ray Petersen & Photos by Lena Petersen
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