An educator in Dubai took on a unique challenge last week – to run 30km each to six schools to encourage pupils to be physically active. Lee Ryan, who is the Sports Excellence Manager at the Cognita Middle East group of schools, undertook this initiative as part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) and hopes it will inspire his students to be more active.

“It was an incredible experience running around the different schools and getting to know the students,” he said Khaleej Times. “Most of them don’t understand when I say I’m running 30km. So they translate that into a figure they can understand – that’s about 30 times around your sports field and they’re just blown away.”

Starting at 6 a.m., Lee ran for about four hours through the gates of each school between November 11 and 15. With this initiative, he also raised awareness and support for the Sparkle Foundation, which helps children in Malawi gain access to education.

He said that in all the schools he ran at, students came out in large numbers to cheer him on and some even ran short distances with him. “Many of them brought signs to support me,” he said. “Some brought me juice or water. Some groups of enthusiastic students, parents as well as teachers ran with me for a short distance. I just wanted him to watch what I was doing, think about it and come home to try to run at least a few kilometers.”

According to Lee, his mission was to get students away from gadgets and screens. “I’m a father of two and I know how much technology and gadgets influence children,” he said. “I want more students to do sports and outdoor activities. It’s hugely beneficial for their development and I think as a community we should strive to get our children outdoors.”

Lee chose six schools belonging to the Cognita group around Dubai to carry out his mission. Since he wanted to finish running 30km each, the Brit ran a total of 60km at two different schools on Thursday. “In the morning, I ran at Repton Al Barsha where over 1000 students came to support me,” he said. “I finished just before 10am and then headed to the office where I fueled up. Then at 4pm I went to Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai where families joined the school’s glittering run. It was a fantastic experience.”

However, Lee is no stranger to such feats. A five-time Guinness World Record holder, Lee also completed 40 marathons in 40 days last year to raise funds and awareness for the Sparkle Foundation. Holding several records, including the most burpees in 24 hours and the fastest marathon with a double wheelchair, Lee is hoping to set a sixth world record this year.

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Nasreen Abdulla

Nasreen Abdulla is a special correspondent covering food, technology and human interest stories. When she’s not challenged by deadlines, you’ll find her replaying submissions on the jiu jitsu mats.