Barwa Bank welcomed back Ziyad Rahim, its Head of Market Risk, who returned from participating in the Antarctica Marathon and is the first and only representative from Qatar to ever run a marathon on the planet’s coldest continent.
“A brilliant trip but a tough race,” said Ziyad, who battled over 2,000ft of elevation change during the 42km course, 90kmph katabatic winds, a snowstorm and around minus 18-20C temperature in order to raise awareness for Noma, a gangrenous disease leading to facial tissue destruction.
Sponsored by Barwa Bank, he will now go on to run in the 255km Marathon Des Sables (MDS), meaning that he will take part in two extreme marathons in the space of one month.
Commenting on the challenge, Ziyad said: “Completing the Antarctica marathon is extremely satisfying personally, and doing it for such a worthwhile cause is all the more rewarding. The victims of Noma are mainly children under the age of six, caught in a vicious circle of extreme poverty and chronic malnutrition. Doing what I can to draw attention to their great suffering is what pushes me forward and motivates me in the toughest moments.”
Over the past six months, Ziyad has been training extremely hard for these two events, completing more than ten marathons around the world. Ziyad is now preparing to fly out to the hot sand dunes of the Sahara Desert to run the MDS in temperatures exceeding 50C to be held from April 6-16.
The official charity of MDS is Facing Africa, which treats patients suffering from Noma in sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the proceeds from the race, as well as monetary support from international donors, allow the organisation to fly in medical teams from Europe and America to perform reconstructive surgery on patients.
Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank Group said: “We congratulate Ziyad on this admirable achievement.”
