Aspire Zone Foundation unveils details of the Esrar Race 2018

Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) unveiled details about its upcoming Esrar Race 2018 in a press conference on Tuesday morning at the Torch Hotel. The Esrar Race is an obstacle course race that returns to Qatar for the second consecutive year. The Race itself will be held from the 23-24 March in Aspire Park.

The event 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.

Qatar’s Olympic Champion and IAAF Athlete of the Year, Mutaz Barshim, who is one of Esrar’s honourary ambassadors, renowned local presenter, Mohammed Saadoun Al Kuwari, who returns this year as a participant in the race, Mr. Nasser Abdullah Al-Hajri, Director of PR and Communications at AZF, Mr. Abdullah Aman Al Khater, Director of Events and Venues of AZF, Ms. Al Anoud Al Misnad, Acting Head of Events at AZF, and Mr. Khalid Saadoun Al Kuwari, CEO of Diverse sports management company.

The press conference kicked off with a note from Mr. Nasser Abdullah Al Hajri, welcoming guests and media representatives who play a big role in spreading awareness about the event among boundary-pushing sports enthusiasts. At the press conference, AZF displayed a video that recapped on Qatar’s first Esrar Race (‘Esrar’ means ‘determination’ in Arabic), which was held in March last year and involved more than 250 local and regional professional and amateur sports enthusiasts from Qatar and the region.

Al Khater: AZF designed the obstacle courses using eco-friendly recycled material

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Abdullah Aman Al Khater, Director of Events and Venues of AZF, said: “The event’s popularity last year prompted AZF to add an additional category for men and women’s relay teams, instead of only having individual races, and extended the duration of the race to two days instead of one. The second day of the competition will be reserved for the relay team races, where each member will need to travel a distance of 200 metres and overcome eight obstacles. The relay races will comprise different teams from gyms across Qatar who signed up their clients and trainers to enter the races as teams. This is to encourage a healthy competition between gyms in Qatar, and to give their members a target to train towards.

Al Khater added: “The Esrar Race 2018 has generated an increase in popularity among sports enthusiasts from within and outside Qatar, especially in the region. This year, ten Kuwaiti registered participants will travel to Doha to take part in the race. More than 180 participants will take part in the individual races, consisting of 144 men, 36 women, 90 of whom are Qataris. Meanwhile, 36 participants will take part in the relay teams races. Amad Al-Hosni, the national Omani footballer who currently players for Fanja FC, will participate in the Esrar Race as an honourary ambassador along with our local Olympic champion, Mutaz Barshim.”

“AZF has also increased the number of obstacle courses from 14 to 21 this year, which will be set up along a distance of five kilometres in Aspire Park. All obstacles were designed and built in-house by AZF’s Logistics team. Some materials used were originally purchased for the Asian Games 2006, demonstrating AZF’s commitment to extending the legacy of the Games for more than a decade,” he continued.

The obstacles include; The Log Jam, the Low Wall, Barrel of Laughs, Tyre Mire, Container Detainer, The Big Squeeze, Leaning Wall, ZZ Hop, Netfix, Killa G’rilla, Walk of Rain, Sidewalk Shuffle, Sandbagger Hill 1, Rolling Thunder, Splashdown, Updown Updown, Sandbagger’s Hill 2, Mudder’s Delight, Zig Zag, Bladder Ladder.”

Mr. Nasser Abdullah Al Hajri, Director of PR and Communication at AZF, remarked: “This event builds on the success of last year’s edition and is extension of AZF’s annual events such as the Qatar Strongest Man competitions, both of which target sports enthusiasts looking for a good challenge.” Qatar’s Olympic Champion, Mutaz Barshim, also said: “I was present as an honourary ambassador during the first Esrar Race last year. This year, I’m going to take part as one of the participants. This year’s race has seen an increase in the number of participants, duration and obstacles. The race shouldn’t only be about winning, because every participant is a winner. It should be about having fun and doing something people love to do.”

Khalid Saadoun Al Kuwari, CEO of Diverse, continued: “After taking part in an obstacle course a few years ago, I thought about bringing that sort of event to Qatar for the first time [by establishing Diverse sports management company]. That’s how Qatar’s first Esrar Race 2017 came to be. The idea started out of my passion for the sport, and it became a reality thanks to AZF’s logistical support. This year, the Qatar Tourism Authority, Ooredoo and Almosak fitness company have extended a helping hand as well, and I’m thankful to all these entities for contributing to the success of our events.”

Rashed AlQurese, Chief Marketing & Promotion Officer at Qatar Tourism Authority commented: “QTA is proud to support ESRAR as it works to develop and position itself on the regional sports and fitness calendars and contribute to the growing sports tourism sub-sector in Qatar.” He added, “Supporting Qatari-owned and -operated participation events like ESRAR, is a key area of focus for us as we implement the Next Chapter of the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2017-2023. We are particularly proud of this sporting event as it promotes Qatar’s sporting culture and creates a Qatari challenger to the global giants in the fast-growing obstacle course racing arena.”  

By following the race course, participants will also be able to explore Aspire Park itself, which hosts numerous global and local sporting events throughout the year thanks to its world-class indoor halls and outdoor facilities which are overseen and managed by a team of high-calibre event management professionals.

Interested male and female participants aged 18 and above can find out more about registration fees, terms and conditions on the ‘Life in Aspire” website http://www.lifeinaspire.qa.