Dead to Red race promotes sports friendly culture in Jordan

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AMMAN — The Dead to Red (D2R) Relay Running race, which is one of the major running events in the Kingdom, has helped the country's population become more aware of the importance of health and sports, according to the founder, Samir Farkouh.

The D2R's popularity has grown despite the fact that its precursor, launched in 1993, started when such awareness was relatively low in Jordan. 

Before the D2R was conceived, running enthusiasts held the first and only edition of the Peak of Madness Run on June 1, 1993. 

The Amman Road Runners (ARR) created this event, covering a distance of 340km — which they managed to complete in 33 hours with a team of eight runners despite the brutal and demanding trail, especially during the blazing summer heat, according to Farkouh.  

After arriving to Aqaba, the ARR team were fond of the idea of finishing a long-distance run to the port city, some 330km south of Amman, but decided that a slightly shorter distance would be more practical. 

That was when Farkouh came up with the idea of competitive running starting from the Dead Sea and ending at the Red Sea. 

"The founders of the race were members of the Hashemite Hash House Harriers and ARR, who took charge of organising long-distance runs in Jordan," he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

HH Prince Firas signalled the start of the first edition of the D2R in November 1993.  Only two teams of six runners each participated.  

The race ended at the southern part of the city of Aqaba after a distance of 242km. 

"In 1993 the only way to reach the road that leads to Aqaba along the Dead Sea was through the city of Karak. However, when the Mujib Bridge was built and the Dead Sea road from Amman to Aqaba opened, the distance was still the same and the starting point of the race became and still is the Mujib Bridge," Farkouh added. 

"Over the years, D2R was boosted by the participation of world-class Jordanian ultra-marathon runners, Mohammad Sweity and Salameh Al Aqra, because everybody wanted to beat them," he said. 

This year, the race will be held on March 10 and 11, according to the ARR Facebook page.

In April 1993, the ARR also created the Dead Sea Ultra Marathon from Amman to the Dead Sea. 

“As the race gained both local and international recognition and grew in number, we began collaborating with the Society for the Care of Neurological Patients,” Farkouh explained. Eventually, ARR handed over the management of the race to that entity.

ARR has been branching into new ventures in addition to long distance running. In coordination with the Jordan Trail Association, ARR organised several runs along the Jordan Trail and is planning to organise more. 

ARR also collaborated with Majaneen Racing to organise the Mad Dog race in Wadi Araba. 

"We also joined forces with Bike Rush to launch a new race, Adrenaline Rush, the first ever technical mountain biking race in Jordan, which will be held on April 15 this year. Our plan is to continue to team up with local sports organisations to create more fun and challenging events."