Maria Conceicao: Dubai expat on the run for underprivileged kids

Kara Martin caught up with her midway.

What inspired you to do seven ultra marathons across seven continents (the 777) as a charity challenge?

I’ve never considered myself a runner – the idea was purely with the intention to raise funds for the foundation. I’ve read and heard that people look up to your cause if you do something phenomenal, something that very few would do or have done.

Originally we were trying to arrange 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, however the logistics are brutally difficult, as the infrastructure just doesn’t exist to get this done. So we have had to delay this challenge until we have organised the logistics. In the meantime, I have managed to secure a place on 7 officially organised races taking place all within 7 weeks.

This is not a childhood fantasy or dream nor is it for enthusiasm for adventure. This is 100% motivated for my personal drive of delivering on the promise I made nine years back to the children and families under the MCF banner to lift them out of poverty.

Can you share with us a bit of your training/ preparation for this?
UpandRunning Sports Centre has been involved in the process of keeping me fit. One of their trainers, Taif Delaime, is 24/7 at my disposal. The training was designed to gradually build up to the challenge and allow my body to recover quickly after each race. Some days it is muscle strengthening, conditioning, some days endurance training runs (21km or 42km), sometimes threshold training which helps develop recovery time.

They also got me back on track with sport rehab for some injuries that I have picked up along the way. Diet has to be very balanced in order to keep my energy levels up as well as healthy, and my food is being supplied by Right Bite.

Now, in between the races, obviously rest and diet is extremely important, however with help from Right Bite and UpandRunning, I recover very quick. I also have essential professional sports massages twice a week at UpandRunning and I am being supported by a fellow runner from Doha, Ziyad Rahim who is attempting a Guinness World record in the male category.

So far you’ve run a total of 150km and travelled over 30,000 air distances in three continents in just three weeks. Where and when will this challenge finally be accomplished and what are you hoping it will have achieved by then? 
The last ultra marathon is scheduled to be in South Africa on March 15. By the end of this challenge I would have spread awareness of the needs to break the cycle of poverty by giving the underprivileged an opportunity to get an education so they can live up to their full potential to all the 7 continents of the planet.

I need scholarships and employment opportunities for ‘the butterflies’. I hope that people will hear my message and help me achieve my goal.

Have you come across any unexpected hurdles along the way?
Oh boy, don’t go there. Things rarely go according to plan. For instance, the weather in Antarctica didn’t look good enough for us to fly in ahead of the challenge, but race directors told us to be ready because things change quickly.

Flying to Antarctica can be unpredictable and in the inaugural year, the race was stopped due to weather concerns prior. We landed in Punta Arenas, Chile on Saturday January 25 at 6am local time and at 10am the Antarctica race directors approached me to say they got a small window to fly there leaving that same night!

But it was great. It may have been cold but the course had breathtaking views of snow covered hills and ocean. There were a half dozen penguins near the 1-mile point but I was so focused on finishing the race, I did not stop.

At this halfway point, how does your body feel?
My body had to endure severe temperature changes during the course of the last three weeks – for instance, after Antarctica was Oman for the Wadi Bih where I suffered dehydration which caused me tremendous pain, but I finished successfully and came 8th in the women’s category.

And how are you feeling mentally?
My mental strength is key to the success ofeach race, which in turn supports my mission to help the children. I had doubts, yes, when I was injured prior to the start of the 777. I have also been let down by close friends at critical moments during the planning phase of this epic journey that threatened to jeopardize my chance of success.

Is this your main goal/event for 2014 or have you got even bigger ideas to come? 
I have bigger challenges in store which I will reveal in due course, both solo and also partnerships, such as with Eva (Clarke, who completed a 24-hour knuckle push-up challenge in Abu Dhabi for MCF). I have already registered for a couple of really tough challenges in 2015.

Right now we need $1 million to see through our commitment to the education of those under our programme. However, this is a moving goalpost because the financial requirement will keep increasing. Raising funds is extremely difficult; there are many good causes for which companies and individuals can give donations. However, you need to continuously get noticed to be considered as beneficiary for donations or endorsements.

I expect my challenges to get more and more extreme to keep financing the foundation. Also I need to show that I have the determination to succeed in my commitments. I had a vision and made a commitment to change the lives of the slum dwellers and I will see this commitment through, whatever it takes.

You can support Maria's foundation and find out more about her cause by visiting www.mariacristinafoundation.org.