DOHA: More than 347 individual participants and 108 team relay participants will vie for honours when the second Esrar Race 2018 kicks off today at Aspire Park.
The two-day obstacle course race will kick off at 8.00am.
Qatar’s celebrity athlete, World Champion and the 2018 IAAF Athlete of the Year, Mutaz Essa Barshim will be participating as an honourary member this year, alongside Omani national team and Fanja FC footballer, Amad Al Hosni; acclaimed TV personalities Mohammed Saadoun Al Kuwari and Ali Al Meslemani and former Middle East champion in obstacle courses, Kuwaiti Yousef Al Shatti.
The event’s popularity last year prompted AZF to add an additional category for men and women’s relay teams to last year’s individual races, extending the duration of the competition to two days instead of one.
Individual races and team relays will kick off on the first day of the competition. After everyone has run once, the winners of the men and women’s individual races will be announced. Meanwhile, the fastest 16 relay teams will then qualify for the Round of 16 tomorrow.
AZF has increased the number of obstacle courses from 14 to 21 this year, all set up along a distance of five kilometres in Aspire Park. All obstacles were designed and built in-house by Aspire’s Logistics team.
Some of the materials used were originally purchased for the 2006 Asian Games at Khalifa International Stadium, demonstrating AZF’s commitment to sporting legacy.
The 2nd Esrar Race 2018 is organised in partnership with Diverse – a Qatari business that specialises in sports events management, the Qatar Tourism Authority, Ooredoo and Al Mosak, a fitness food company.
