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. This 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. ~ Manal Rostom
Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020
History of Marathoning
The marathon was created based on the legend of a messenger who existed during Ancient Greek times. The messenger ran nearly 40km to notify of the victory in which the Greeks concorded the invading Persian army in 490BC (Nix, 2021). The messenger collapsed and died after making his announcement from exhaustion. The history of marathoning dates back to approximately 776BC when athletes began to run long distances (Nix, 2021). Comparatively, the distances those men ran were not at the length of a marathon. The first original marathon occurred in Athens Greece in 1896 at the Olympics (Nix, 2021). In 1908 the Olympics were extended from roughly 25 miles to the current marathon race of 26.2 miles (42.195 km) to accommodate the Royal family (Nix, 2021).
Prior to 1970, Fred Lewbow had been overseeing the NYC Marathon in Central Park (Burfoot, 2007). In 1976 he introduced the 5-borough event that changed the history of marathons (Burfoot, 2007). From then onwards, hundreds of cities throughout the world began hosting an annual marathon (Burfoot, 2007). The Boston Marathon was described as the world’s most pure and most amateur race. However, in 1986, the event introduced an aspect of professionalism and pride to revamp the Boston marathon worldwide(Burfoot, 2007). The first London marathon took place in 1981 and has quickly become one of the world’s most popular. The first race has 7055 participants and over 30,000 in 1988 (Burfoot, 2007). In 2003, Paula Radcliffe completed in the London marathon and ran at a pace of 2:15:25 which is still today’s world record (Burfoot, 2007).
Manal Rostom completes London Marathon
History of Mount Everest Mountaineering
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world and is found in Nepal surrounded by other mountains and rugged hills (Fundytus, 2021). Nepal is located in Southern Asia and is found between China and India (Fundytus, 2021). In the mid-20th century, Nepal opened their borders welcoming individuals from all over the world who were interested in climbing the summit of Everest (Fundytus, 2021). The increase in tourism to Nepal as a result of those wanting to climb the summit has resulted in providing employment opportunities, increasing international cultural awareness and improving economic diversification (Fundytus, 2021). Mountaineering has become an extremely popular tourism attraction resulting in several individuals becoming trained in mountaineering with the goal of eventually climbing Everest (Fundytus, 2021).
Originally, mountaineering was dominated by upper-class men, however, the sport is currently reconsented by both men and women with interests in adventure tourism (Vespestad & Hansen, 2020). The sport is still mainly dominated by men (Vespestad & Hansen, 2020). Mount Everest is considered the tallest point on earth standing at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) (National Geographic, 2022). The attempt to climb mount Everest began in 1921, however, was not successfully done until 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (Fundytus, 2021). It took individuals over 30 years to successfully climb this mountain, most likely a result of the summits elevation “death zone”. Most climbers who attempt to climb this summit are not accustomed to the high altitudes and low oxygen levels. As such, the majority of individuals carry bottled oxygen while attempting this adventure (National Geographic, 2022). The “death zone” is the area above the 8000 meters point where individuals often develop altitude sickness and unfortunately even brain swelling (National Geographic, 2022). The average amount of time to climb to the top of Everest takes 2 months which includes rest and acclimatization periods (Burke, 2003).
Who is Manal Rostom?
Manal Rostom is an Arab-Egyptian woman born in Kuwait on October 30th, 1979 (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). Manal began playing sports at a young age as she always looked up to her older female peers that participated in sports (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). A woman participating in sports and physical activity in Islamic law has always been up for debate (Mroz, 2022). The majority of the controversy comes from the association that modern sports are associated with colonization and westernization (Mroz, 2022). Manal began wearing a hijab at the age of 19 after surviving a serious car accident (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). Interestingly, her parents do not wear nor support her wearing a hijab (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). After her near-fatal accident, she believed that the discipline of wearing a hijab could guide and serve her goals in life (Sonali, 2021). She is known mainly for the initiation of the Facebook group ‘surviving hijab’, being a marathoner and mountaineer and lastly her work with the Nike hijab campaign (Summit, 2020).
Manal was also always very academically oriented. She began her academic journey at New English school in Kuwait before progressing to receive her International General Certificate of Secondary School (IGCSE) in 1996 (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). She then attended Alexandria University and in 2001 received her bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). Additionally, Manal has trained to receive her Advanced Instructors RPM from 2013-2015 and her Body Balance Group instructors from 2017-2018 (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020).
From 2006-2007 Manal also worked with Clinical Product Specialist before proceeding to work with AstraZeneca for over 9 years. During her time at AstraZeneca, she worked as a medical representative, executive medical representative, project lead, field sales trainer, and medical science liaison personnel (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020). She then became a motivational speaker in 2017, worked alongside Nike and completed several marathons and mountaineering adventures (Entrepreneurs.ng, 2020).
Surviving Hijab
In 2014 in Egypt, Manal and three friends founded a group to support women wearing Hijabs (surviving Hijabs) (Sonali, 2021). Additionally, the group was closed for women only to help defy female stenotypes and support women and bring them strength as they wear their hijabs as a sign of faith (Summit, 2020). This space was founded with the intention of discussion and solidarity around the world. The group quickly grew and became one of the largest Facebook groups worldwide (Sonali, 2021).
In 2017, the Facebook group ‘Surviving Hijab’ had grown tremendously with over half a million members becoming one of the biggest global platforms. Additionally, Manal furthered her support for women wearing hijabs by building the brand “hija-babes as a place for women to share their stories on social media outside of the group (Sonali, 2021). This community allowed for the adoption of wearing a hijab as a way for women to build a path of personal achievement (Sonali, 2021).
Manal in Sports
Manal shared a post on Instagram about how putting on her hijab was an act of free will and free choice after the accident she experienced. She stated that this accident could have taken her life. (Sonali, 2021). However, post-accident the symbolism of the hijab changed its meaning in her life. She believed that the discipline of wearing a hijab would be her guide and serve her life goals. (Sonali, 2021). She shared her story via social media of her post-hijab story in which she has been running marathons, being a female mountaineer and living a social life as a single woman (Sonali, 2021).
“I’m the first Egyptian woman to climb Mount Everest!” (Sawy & Tabikha, 2022). After almost two months, Manal has become the first Arab-Egyptian woman to climb Mount Everest. The athlete stated that it had been a dream of hers for at least the last 15 years (Sawy & Tabikha, 2022). Manal has been a mountaineer for years. She has not climbed a total of 8 mountains including Kilimanjaro & Elbrus which are said to be 2/7 tallest in the world (Summit, 2020). Additionally, she has climbed Mt St Catherine (Egypt), Jabal Shams (Oman), Mt Toubkal (Morocco), Mt Kenya (Kenya) & Mont Blanc (France) where she was also the first Egyptian Women (Summit, 2020).
In addition to being a mountaineer, Manal has also been a very prominent Egyptian female marathoner. In May 2016, Manal was the first Egyptian woman to run the great wall of China Marathon. Additionally, she has completed over 13 marathons and is the first Egyptian woman to complete 5/6 world major marathons (Summit, 2020). The world’s major marathons Manal has completed are in New York City, Berlin, Chicago, Boston and London. Additionally, she has completed the Kuwait marathon, Muscat, Dubai, Cairo, Luxor, Great Wall of China & Wadi Bih marathons (Summit, 2020).
One of Manal’s most prominent dreams is to become the first Egyptian woman to complete the 7 summits (the 7 highest mountains in every content) and be the first Egyptian woman to run all 6 of the major Marathons around the world (Waymer & Logan, 2021).
Manal and Nike
Nike Inc was founded in 1964 originally from Blue Ribbon Sports (Wojtys, 2018) by Bill Bowerman, who was a track and field coach at the University of Oregon and one of his former students Phil Knight (Britannica, 2019). The first retail outlet was opened in 1966 and the first Nike brand show was launched in 1972 (Britannica, 2019). The waffle Nike trainers launched in the 1970s were patented in 1974 as they provided a better grip on running tracks with their unique soles. Nike shoes then became extremely popular when the Michael Jordan era began (Wojtys, 2018). The business has expanded. In the 1980s diversifying the product line, in 1996 the Nike ACG (“all-conditions gear”) was launched and in the early 21st century the company began selling sports accessory technologies, heart monitors, wrist compasses, etc. (Britannica, 2019)
In 2017, Nike announced Pro Hijab to empower Muslim athletes. The garment was named the most important design of the year in the Innovation by Design Awards, additionally 2017’s best inventions by Time magazine (Grubic, 2021). Manal Rostom was named the ambassador of the Nike Pro Hijab line (Waymer & Logan, 2021). Additionally, Manal was featured in the Nike ‘Believe in More’ campaign in 2018. Additionally, Manal was featured in the ‘Dream Crazier’ campaign in 2019 which further challenged gender and cultural norms (Waymer & Logan, 2021).
Being the face of something [Nike campaign] that has made history helps back up the credibility of my message…I feel very proud and honoured to have been a part of this ground-breaking invention, inspiring generations to come ~ Manal Rostom
Waymer & Logan, 2021
References
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019, December 16). Nike, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nike-Inc
Burfoot, A. (2007). The History of the marathon: 1976-present. Sports Medicine, 37(4), 284+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A200844016/AONE?u=queensulaw&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=cfb13198
Burke, S. (2003). Mental strategies of elite mount everest climbers. Journal of Excellence, (8), 48-58. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35944920_Mental_strategies_of_elite_Mount_Everest_climbers
Entrepreneurs.ng. (2020, April 1). Manal Rostom – Biography Of Nike First Hijabi Running Ambassador. Entrepreneurs.ng. https://www.entrepreneurs.ng/manal-rostom/#:~:text=Manal%20was%20born%20and%20raised,decision%20to%20be%20a%20hijabi
Fundytus, K. (2021). Climbing Mount Everest: A critical reflection on mountain adventure tourism in Nepal using a population health approach. Journal of Integrated Studies, 13(1). https://jis.athabascau.ca/index.php/jis/article/view/298/829#:~:text=Though%20attempts%20by%20humans%20to,Everest%20(Gardner%2C%202016)
Grubic, A. (2021). Chapter 5: Just Wear It: Media Coverage of the Nike Pro Hijab. Sportswomen’s Apparel Around the World. (pp. 83-94). P. Macmillian. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46843-9_6
Mroz, K. (2022). Muslim Sportswomen: A New Way of Being Religious in the Contemporary World. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 45(2), 13-28. doi:10.1353/jsa.2022.0004.
National Geographic Society (2022, May 20). Mount Everest. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mount-everest
Nix, E. (2021, August 2). Why is a marathon 26.2 Miles?. History. https://www.history.com/news/why-is-a-marathon-26-2-miles
Sawy, N. E., & Tabikha, K. (2022, May 18). Manal Rostom becomes first Egyptian woman to climb Everest. The National News. https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/egypt/2022/05/17/manal-rostom-becomes-first-egyptian-woman-to-summit-everest/
Sonali S. (2021). Styling Strength: Pious Fashion and Fitness on Surviving Hijab. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 17(1): 96–116. doi: https://doi-org.proxy.queensu.ca/10.1215/15525864-8790252
Summit (2020). Manal Rostom. Summit startups without borders. https://startupswb.com/summit/team-member/manal-rostom/
Vespestad, M. K., & Hansen, O. B. (2020). Shaping Climbers’ Experiencescapes: The Influence of History on the Climbing Experience. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 44(1), 109–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348019883685
Waymer, D. & Logan, N. (2021). Corporate social advocacy as engagement: Nike’s social justice communication. Public Relations Review, 47(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.102005
Wojtys E. M. (2018). Shoe Power. Sports health, 10(5), 396–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738118792874
KNPE 397 