Jan 5, 2018
In this interview we hear from Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh from Jordan, who shares a different story compared to my other episodes.
Starting with his first 10k in Beirut, Mo takes us through his running journey sharing running-for- real stories of races and people he has met along the way. He tells us about the advice he received from Deena Kastor and Meb about his goals.
Coming to the U.S. for academics, he takes us through his transition from living in Jordan to living in the U.S. and the progress he made with his running on a university team.
He describes the differences in running Jordanians perceive compared to those in the U.S. or the UK.
We discuss Ramadan and how he physically, nutritionally, and mentally trains through this time.
Like many runners I have spoken with, Mo, too, is an advocate of positive change. He speaks very passionately about the NGO he works for called Generations for Peace.
We discuss the ability for professional athletes to make a pretty comfortable living in the U.S. compared to Jordan. He describes his first-hand experience of running in the U.S. as it relates to sport doctors, physios and women runners.
He very eloquently explains what running is really about, and gives wonderful examples of how running can affect us emotionally.
Today's Guest
Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh is a Jordanian long distance runner who is a promoter for peace. He works with Generation for Peace, an organization that uses sports to build peace by bringing youth together.
What You Will Learn About
- How Mo’ath transitioned to study in the U.S. and run for university.
- How Mo is using his experiences and knowledge of what the U.S. has to offer runners to benefit others in Jordan.
- What Mo thinks makes runners want to change things for the positive.
- What Generations for Peace (GFP) is, its purpose, and how it is used by countries around the world. Also, why he focuses on the parents when the programme is for the youth.
Inspirational Quotes
Running is one of the hardest sports, I think, in my opinion. It’s hard to do it. It’s hard to start. The problem is getting people out the door is the hard part. Once they are out, they’re out. They will love it. They will stick to it. That’s what happen to me.
I just realized it’s all about, you know, getting the job done, and focus.
If you wanted to be a pro, you have to live like a pro life.
I owe running a lot because I met a lot of people from different background, different religion, different color, different countries, different nations. But when we sit together, we speak the same language.
It is an individual sport, but when you do it, you do it to other people.
Running is like when I do it, I get together with people, I learn from people, and I run with people. That’s how I see it.
Resources Mentioned
Washington Times Article on Mo'Ath
Support Mo by visiting his fundraising page for St Jude Research Hospital
Thank you to our new sponsor Health IQ and favorite recovery product BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.
Finally, rather than being punished for the way the rest of the country does not look after themselves, we can be rewarded for taking the time, effort, and heart we put into our sport. Health IQ gives us better rates for being active, and you can learn more at Healthiq.com/runningforreal
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