Muscat, Feb 19 - The inaugural running of the Himam Trail Running event took place yesterday, with a distinctly Irish flavour in terms of encouragement and support from prominent trail running identities Eoin Flynn and Eoin Keith. The pair urge competitors to embrace their ‘himam’ or destiny, on Jabal Al Akhdhar, and to pay homage to nature and sport in the most fundamental manner, by challenging the mighty mountain.
On his second attempt at the Oman by UTMB, Keith proved too strong in the final stages to overcome an outstanding performance by Oman’s Hamdan al Khatri, and the Irishman expressed his intense regret at being unable to defend his hard-won title. The Irishman did, however, have a personal message for the competitors in this weekend’s event on Jabal Al Akhdhar, saying, “I hope you all have an enjoyable experience, and relish every step of your journey. There is nothing more I would like than to be there with you this weekend, competing, and enjoying the privilege of living and competing in such a beautiful country.”
The second link with the sports loving European nation is through Flynn, himself a quality athlete having represented his country with distinction across a wide swathe of running disciplines. In Oman regularly as the Event Commentator for the Oman by UTMB, and the Muscat Al Mouj Marathon, and currently Podcast Host for Trail Running Ireland, Flynn, in his inimitable enthusiastic manner, shared these very appropriate thoughts: “This virus will come and go, but throughout these difficult times our mountains remain constant, to be admired, loved, and yet to be conquered. Sport, like the mountains, will always be with us, and when we can bring trail running and the mighty Jabal together, taking on the challenge, the joy and excitement will be embraced, seen and felt by many. Enjoy your adventure this weekend, sure that we, and thousands of others from the athletic world will be watching, cheering you on every step of the way, and from the Start Line to the Finish, Go! Go! Go!”
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