Mleiha sees more than 10,000 visitors for Sharjah Spartan Race

The Editor November 19, 2016 Culture 14,007 Views

Amid an atmosphere of great enthusiasm and excitement, Sharjah hosted its first ever Spartan Race on Friday at 7:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. in Mleiha, attracting more than 10,000 visitors to the long-waited race event. The race was organised by the Spartan Race in association with Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism destination.

More than 2,400 participants took part in the race and came from the UAE, wider GCC and Middle East regions, as well as from the USA, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Finland, Czech Republic, Kenya and beyond.

Over the course of the challenges in the final race, Marco Antonio Castro finished first in the ‘Spartan Beast – Elite Beast’, while Daoud Moustafa came second, and Juan Carlos Lemus finished third. On the female category, Amina Mhih finished first in the ‘Spartan Beast – Elite Beast’, followed by Angelique Chetanev who finished second and Sandra Chetanev Fuselier who came third.

In the male category, Hallvard Barsheim finished first in the ‘Spartan Sprint – Elite Sprint’, followed by Chris Flynn in the second place, and Yousef Al Shatti in the third place. While similarly in the female category, Karima Matoussi achieved a commanding lead, followed by Hanlie Signorini in the second place, and Heike Isufi who finished third. You can see the full Spartan race results here.

“From the moment it kicked off, the race created an atmosphere of tremendous enthusiasm and excitement as huge crowds cheered their friends, family members, or colleagues participating in the race. We have received the most positive feedback from participants and audiences who praised our world-class organisation and the state-of-art facilities we made available to thousands of people present here. We also received glorious testimonials from media representatives who were impressed with the arrangements we made to facilitate their work, “said Mahmoud Rashid Al Suwaidi, Manager of Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism.

“We were able to achieve something unique through the successful organisation of this race. Its unprecedented success bears testimony to Mleiha Archaeological and Ecotourism Project having emerged as a potential venue for hosting major sports events in the UAE. Mleiha also serves as one of the most unique tourist destinations in the region, making it an exceptional place of interest. I invite everyone to experience the magic of Mleiha,” he added.

The Mleiha Spartan Race featured three main challenges, including the Spartan Beast, Spartan Spirit and Spartan Junior. The Spartan Beast, held for the first time in the Middle East, is designed for professional and highly experienced athletes and adventurers. It includes a 20 km racetrack with more than 30 hard-hitting obstacles.

The Spartan Sprint feature a 5 km race course with 20 obstacles that include running, crawling and jumping is designed for athletes and armatures, while the Spartan Junior, a 1,5 km track is designed for children aged 4-15 years.

Sponsored by XDubai, Etisalat, Dubai Sports Council and Reebok International, The Spartan Race served as a great platform for highlighting the potential of Mleiha, whose vast and open terrain challenged its first human settlers thousands of years ago, as a prolific site for high endurance sports events.

(Press Release)

View the full Spartan Race results (www.spartanarabia.com)