Kathia Rached Lebanon

Kathia Rached, Lebanon

Photo: Kathia Rached personal archive

Maja Rigač (SLO), member of the IAU Communication Committee spoke with Kathia Rached, a Lebanese ultrarunner and Member of the IAU Athletes Commission.

Kathia Rached is a Physical Education Teacher by day, a runner at all times and a personal trainer in between. She is a member of the Lebanese Athletic Federation and she become the first Lebanese and Arab to join the 4 Deserts Club. Her passion is running and she has participated from middle distance races to 250 km ultra marathons.

Maja Rigač (MR): How and when did you start running?

Kathia Rached (KR): I started running in September 2011, I was 34 years old at that time and I heard an advertisement about Beirut marathon on the radio. I suddenly felt that I should be there and this is what I want in life. That was the moment I started running.

Maja Rigač (MR): What was your first race, first Half Marathon, first Marathon, and first Ultramarathon?

Kathia Rached (KR): My first race was 10km in the event of Beirut Marathon in November 2010. My first Half Marathon was the Lebanese Championship in October 2011 with a time of 1h53min. My first Marathon was Beirut Marathon in November 2011 with a time of 3h47min45min. My first Ultramarathon in May 2015 with the organization racing the planet Gobi March China 250km in 6 days with a time of 34h49min57sec and a 3rd place overall from the first participation.

Photo: Kathia Rached personal archive

Maja Rigač (MR): Why did you decide to run Ultramarathons, especially the extreme ones, such as desert races or Antarctica Ultra Marathon?

Kathia Rached (KR): From the beginning and after my first participation in the half marathon and marathon, I discovered and felt that I feel physically and mentally better in the long distance. I also wanted to do something special and unique that no woman did it before me in Lebanon. That was the first vision, but when I did the first ultra and discover myself more I found out that this is my game and this is exactly my distance in running the Ultra.

Maja Rigač (MR): What are your main achievements?

Kathia Rached (KR): Completing the 4 deserts and in all on the overall podium:

• 2015, Gobi March China, 34h49min57sec, 3rd place.
• 2016, Sahara Race Namibia, 30h03min38sec, 2nd place.
• 2016, The last desert Antarctica, 226.1 km, 3rd place.
• 2017, Atacama Chilli, 34h07min43sec, 2nd place.
• Whew 100 in Wuppertal (Germany), May 2018, 100km, 9h14min14sec.
• IAU World championship 2018, CRO 100, 100km, 9h39min02sec.
• IAU 6H VIRTUAL GLOBAL SOLIDARITY RUN, August 2021, in 6hours I ran 70.49km.

Photo: Kathia Rached personal archive

Maja Rigač (MR): What is the maximum weekly kms that you achieve during a preparation for an Ultra?

Kathia Rached (KR): 200km.

Maja Rigač (MR): Do you have an anecdote or an interesting story about your running or a certain race?

Kathia Rached (KR): For me, every day and every moment during my daily run and during my competition is a story. It is honestly full of special stories and great moments if I will start talking about them, I will never stop. But I still remember when I fell down in the snow in Antarctica and had an injury, but I continued with injury till the end to be on the overall female podium.

Maja Rigač (MR): What were some challenges that you faced during the race? How did you deal with them? Especially the extreme ones (deserts, Antarctica).

Kathia Rached (KR): To be alone in all the four deserts events. I was the only Lebanese person. Moreover, not having any communication with my family, coach and friends was not easy. I am mentally prepared since I do all my training alone, so I was able to cope with the situation.

Maja Rigač (MR): Who was your crew/support and how did they help you?

Kathia Rached (KR): Most of the time, I was alone, without any crew. I was with my coach only in Whew 100 (Germany) and CRO 100 (Croatia).

Maja Rigač (MR): What do you love about running?

Kathia Rached (KR): The freedom that running gives me. I feel myself free on this huge planet.

Maja Rigač (MR): What is your motto?

Kathia Rached (KR): You are your own limit, the more you hold on to your dream, the more you can achieve it.

Maja Rigač (MR): How many miles do you run on average with one pair of running shoes?

Kathia Rached (KR): Around 1000 km maximum.

Maja Rigač (MR): Which ultra-race is closest to your heart? Why?

Kathia Rached (KR): Atacama, because I liked the place and the track so much.

Maja Rigač (MR): How popular is the Ultramarathon in your country?

Kathia Rached (KR): Not too much compared to the marathon and half marathons, but after my participations in the ultra and the IAU virtual run it became more known.

Maja Rigač (MR): What would you do to make this sport more popular?

Kathia Rached (KR): Motivating runners to participate by being a role model and a good example.  

Maja Rigač (MR): You also participated at the IAU Global Solidarity Run? Where did you run?

Kathia Rached (KR): Yes, I participated with 3 women and 12 men. It was a very good event. In my country, I run it in a small village in the mountain ALMROUJ in a lap of 800m.

Maja Rigač (MR): You were also Athlete of the year 2020 by IAU? What does this nomination mean to you?

Kathia Rached (KR): After an unprecedented and challenging year, I was extremely gratified to be chosen by the IAU among 6 other ultra-runners as IAU Athletes of Year 2020. It is a feeling of pride and devotion to represent and propagate the echo of my country, Lebanon, and this motivated me a lot to continue and work consistently in this discipline.

Maja Rigač (MR): What are your personal goals in 2022?

Kathia Rached (KR): The 100km IAU World Championship and I am also setting a goal for 2023: the 24 hours hopefully.

Photo: Kathia Rached personal archive

Maja Rigač

IAU Communication Committee