Former British soldier aims to run 630km across the UAE in less than six days

Harry Amos, who rowed across the Pacific in 2023, faces a challenge closer to home

Former British soldier Harry Amos plans to run across all seven emirates of the UAE in less than six days to raise money for the Ma'an social contribution fund. Photo: Harry Amos

A former British soldier who rowed across the Pacific Ocean has his sights on running across the seven emirates of the UAE in fewer than six days.

Harry Amos, 38, was part of the four-man team from Dubai that took on the challenge of rowing 4,500km from California to Hawaii two years ago. While his rowing partner Paris Norriss is preparing to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents, Mr Amos is determined to keep up with his childhood friend with his running challenge.

Both men are running for charitable causes, with Mr Amos, who has lived in Dubai for nine years, hoping to raise Dh50,000 ($13,615) for the Authority of Social Contribution Ma’an to support diabetes care in the UAE. His run will begin in Fujairah and cross the country before ending at the border with Saudi Arabia, about 630km later, and is scheduled to begin at the end of January.

“What the Pacific row taught me is that there is only room for an expedition of that size every five years or so, because you have to raise so much money,” said Mr Amos, who served in Afghanistan during his army career. “To get that done, we had to raise £350,000, so I wanted to do something a little bit smaller and closer to home, but equally as difficult. This running route through seven emirates was pioneered during the pandemic by another good friend of mine, Sean Burgess.

“He trekked from the Saudi Arabia border up to the Fujairah coast in a very respectable six days and 22 hours or so. He established the Guinness World Record route, and since then two other runners have completed that distance, the fastest which was five days and 22 hours. Hopefully, I can get close to that time.”

Scientific study

The first run completed by Mr Burgess was monitored by scientists at the Mohammed bin Rashid University Of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dubai, to assess the physical impact of the challenge. His run included 15 shifts of eight hours of walking and running which saw his body composition change drastically. Although his weight was largely unchanged, his body fat plummeted 45 per cent from 16.7kg to 9.1kg.

Mr Amos said lessons from that experience can help him to complete his 630km journey that means he will run the equivalent of more than two marathons every day. By switching the direction of the route – with the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah taken on early in the challenge and with proper rest – he hopes to make the run slightly less gruelling.

“I think that the previous runners all made a terrible mistake and should have been starting from Fujairah,” he said. “The last day is a killer because you've got to get over about 500 metres of elevation to go over the mountains. I’ve tested the uphill leg, which is a 32km route from Fujairah beach to Masafi on top of the mountains, so I know I can complete the hardest day, fresher and without overdoing it.”

Training runs include clocking up 70km a week, but that is set to be cranked up to 100km over the next week or two before his intense routine tapers off. He plans to fuel his run with about 8,000 calories a day, with Spinneys supermarket sponsoring his run to provide fresh food each day.

“I joined the Royal Marines when I was 18, and so by nature of my career I have been physically fit, and part of that has been running,” said Mr Amos, who will be supported by his wife, two daughters and baby son, as well as a medical team from Mubadala Health.

“When running is mandated it becomes a background activity, but when you leave the army it has to come from your own motivation. It takes discipline to maintain the routine, but it is fundamentally important for my physical and mental well-being. I'm definitely not Kipchoge [a Kenyan long-distance runner] but what someone very wise once told me: if you can't go fast, you better be able to go far.”