LEADER OF THE PACK SAYS WOMEN CAN FIND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
▶ Abeer Al Khaja, who founded a running club, has big sporting ambitions, she tells Ramola Talwar Badam
From lifting weights to running in a pack, Abeer Al Khaja has learnt that there is strength in numbers. Al Khaja, 31, is a CrossFit level 2 trainer and co-founder of a weekly running club.
Her goal is to build a community of strong women to and spread her message of fitness, pushing people to go beyond their limits.
“Girls want to run outdoors but never had a chance without the hijab and in a private facility,” she says. “Running together makes us feel good. The girls love it and it’s like we have created a community.”
Al Khaja helped to start the Ana Gow Running Club – which means “I am strong” in the Emirati dialect – three years ago to encourage women to run without feeling judged or embarrassed. The club has grown to about 70 members.
Some take part in marathons, some in other long-distance races and others seek a private place to run comfortably.
“The point of Ana Gow Running is that it is for non-runners,” Al Khaja says. “Women who are not fit or women who feel self-conscious to go into the gym have begun getting out of their house. It is not intimidating because not all of us are good runners, so this feels safe and do-able.”
The women meet every Tuesday for free classes at Dubai Ladies Club. Most are Emirati but some expatriates have also joined.
Al Khaja has a weightlifting certificate and teaches CrossFit at Dubai’s Metalize gym. To follow her passion, she gave up a secure job in the airline industry last year. She left Emirates airline where she worked for seven years, rising to a managerial position. After work, she would coach women in a gym in the Ras Al Khor industrial area.
“I thought long and hard and it was a very difficult decision to leave Emirates because I loved my team and I learnt so much,” Al Khaja says. “But everyone was supportive and gave me the strength to move on to what I truly love.”
She set herself targets to remain focused without a fulltime job.
“This is not like a key performance indicator I would need in a company but my personal goal to make fitness a lifestyle for girls,” Al Khaja says. “That is the message I want to spread.
“I want to get the word out to companies and brands that sponsor young athletes. I want to let them know that we have Emirati athletes training daily and their sole purpose is to make this country proud.
“I would love to have sports and health-related companies get involved with these athletes to create sponsorship programmes for these girls.”
To this end, she created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @ abeermk.
Al Khaja believes organising events for women will pull in more enthusiasts. During her CrossFit classes, she tailors her workouts depending on her mainly Emirati clientele and says the atmosphere is always one of encouragement and celebration.
“The last person who finishes the workout is the one gets the most cheers, so the women like to come back because they are part of a group,” Al Khaja says. “Some do not sign up for CrossFit but just want to get fit. We offer solutions based on their requirements.
“I don’t discourage anyone. We may have a lady who is not comfortable lifting barbells or a girl who may like boxing, so I motivate them differently.”
She has also coached pregnant women as part of her goal to get more expectant mothers to the gym.
“This is something I want to continue to highlight so more women are aware that pregnant women don’t need to stop training,” Al Khaja says. “Of course we scale down workouts and constantly supervise them.
“When girls hear about us working out in the gym or running through social media or read about it in The National, they will be encouraged to come try it out. It is our responsibility to reach them.”
She has big dreams for the women athletes she has got to know well. Her plan is to encourage sports women to train while looking for sponsorship and funding.
“I want to achieve some of this within this year,” Al Khaja says. “But for me it does not end this year, this will be my constant effort. This is my passion.
“I’m going to make sure that people hear of Emirati women athletes even if it takes me five to 10 years.”
I would love to have sports and health-related companies get involved with these athletes to create sponsorship programmes for girls