Nike’s have release the second Middle East installment of their Dream Crazier campaign featuring the incredible Manal Rostom.
Dream Crazier with Manal tells Rostom’s story as an everyday athlete and her unwavering commitment to pursue non-conventional sports of mountaineering and running in the region for a hijabi woman, and her aspirations of leading a generation of unstoppable female athletes to step into their own crazy dreams.
Manal, who worked with Sport360 on the 100 of the Most Influential Women in Sport campaign, is the first Hijab wearing Nike running coach and was the first woman to complete an international marathon in the Nike Pro Hijab, “the hijab never limited me, it is the fear that limits us”, Manal affirms in the film.
Rostom continues to carve the way for athletes from the desert throughout the globe, evident in the unstoppable growth of her Facebook community, Surviving Hijab, with more than 600,000 members. Propelling forward the inclusion of Muslim female athletes in sports around the world, Rostom is already on her way to accomplishing her crazy dream to become the first Egyptian to complete all 6 major marathons and climb all seven major mountain summits (of which she has already completed two) by 2020.
Manal on Finding her Athletic Spirit
“When I was younger, I experimented with other sports, but I was either too short or didn’t have the right coach – until I found running. It was as if the sport chose me, I could train myself and work as hard as I needed to on my own. It became part of my identity and the track was no longer just a place for me to have an outlet for my energy, it was my independence. It became where I found peace, growth, and stability in difficult times.
“It gave me purpose and now, I cannot imagine myself without running, I have to keep going – not just for me, but for all the young girls after me with the same dream – this is what I live for.”
