Manal Rostom shares her inspirational story in the 25-minute guided run in the brand’s running app.
In Manal Rostom’s mind, barriers – be they personal, social or cultural ones – exist only for the sole purpose of breaking through them.
That’s exactly what this Egyptian-born, Dubai-based marathoner, mountaineer and running coach has been doing for a while now.
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Last year, she became the first athlete ever to compete in a major race wearing a Nike Pro Hijab. She entered the New York City Marathon and completed it in 4 hours and 42 minutes wearing this piece of modest sports gear.
Now though, Rostom’s taken to Instagram to announce yet another milestone in her career. She’s just become the first Arab to be featured on the Global Nike+ Run Club App.
How momentous is that? Well, consider that the other athletes featured on the app include some of sport’s biggest names like Mo Farah and Simone Biles.
Rostom is in seriously good company.
Rostom has a 25-minute audio-guided run on the app that begins with her sharing a little about her background. It then evolves into a motivational train-along session where listeners are inspired to push harder through their workout regime, courtesy the pro athlete egging them on.
On Instagram, Rostom said, “I have never been given the freedom of expression to tell my story in the coolest setting ever. All the miles, the sweat, the blood, the tears, the questions why, the reasons why, have all come down to this very moment where I share my story UNFILTERED with the world from my heart, to hopefully your heart, as we go through this run together. Today is a very special day for me as a runner who struggled to find my way and pace my way through life.”
In the podcast, you’ll also find a reference to her Surviving Hijab Facebook group.
“Shoutout to Surviving Hijab coming in at minute 17:25. I hope this can inspire anyone who thinks they are no one to continue to have faith that sometimes life can have a funny way of throwing back miracles right back at your face,” she added on her post.
In March, Facebook even invited her to speak at their Palo Alto headquarters in California where she met with the social media giant’s billionaire COO, Sheryl Sandberg.
The Nike+ Run Club app is available to download on Apple and Android devices. Our only advice to Rostom: Don’t stop.
Images: Instagram
