I ran the 10 kilometer race this morning in the Roody 50X in the nearby Wadi Degla Protectorate Nature Reserve. Ultra Ibex is a trail running and outdoor adventure events organizer. One of the founders of the organization, Raid Gamaleldin, is a parent at our school. I connected with him through his daughter leads a conservation group at our school. It was natural for me to participate considering my love of silent sports (trail running, cycling, nordic skiing) and environmental conservation. Raid told me that he started the race five years ago when he turned 50 years old and to celebrate, he ran a 50-kilometer race. He is now 55 years old and so he ran the 55-kilometer race. There was a 28-kilometer, 10-kilometer, and 5-kilometer categories.
My race was running 5 kilometers into the canyon and returning to the starting line. It was slightly uphill with only one elevation gain at around the 2.7 kilometer mark where there is a small dam. The canyon was formed by winds and occasional flash floods. It is unique to have a desert canyon on the edge of a metropolis of over 20 million people. My Strava app paused during the run while I was shooting video so I didn’t have an exact time. It was a minute or two before or after the one hour mark, which was my goal. With a bit of training, I can certainly improve my time. I felt strong coming to the end of the run. I haven’t run a race for awhile and I was exhilarated to be in a competition with others. I do more cycling that running to preserve my knees from a lifetime of distance running.
The Ultra Ibex calendar of races is amazing with trail runs in the deserts and mountains of the Sinai Peninsula and wadis along the Red Sea. The shortest distances are between 25 and 30 kilometers which I may not be up to. We’ll see how I feel this year.
We had a strong turnout for the cleanup following the races. The German Embassy, Maadi Normer School, a couple of universities, private citizens and our group from the American International School Egypt. In the first 3 kilometers of the canyon there is a lot of litter and garbage from campers and groups spending the day in the canyon. There is an almost overwhelming amount of cigarette butts, plastic food containers, potato chip bags, etc. left by picnickers. The “pack in – pack out” mentality is not here in Egypt.
