The cancellation of Tor des Geants ultra race, a 330 KM endurance trail race that takes place in the Aosta Valley in Italy, and the travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, had Amy searching for a solo adventure that she could do locally. After a weekend of running some segments of the Jordan Trail close to Dana, she had her eyes set on discovering the beauty of her new home, by running the entire trail.
The Jordan Trail goes through some of Jordan's most gorgeous scenery traversing diverse landscapes and vistas of the country, from the rolling wooded hills in the north, through the rugged Wadis and cliffs overlooking the Jordan Rift Valley, going through the rose rocks of Petra and the dramatic sands and towering mountains of Wadi Rum, to the crystal waters of the Red Sea. It takes experienced hikers an average of 40 days to cross the 650KM trail.
Amy would spend the next few months planning her grand adventure. In the weeks leading to it, Amy ran several segments of the Jordan Trail, often alone but sometimes accompanied by friends. She kept the trail near and dear to her heart, never running the same segment more than once, leaving a few surprises for the week of the actual event. She chose a window of time between Mid-September and October, as the weather starts to get cooler, maximizing the hours of daylight while minimizing chances of rain and potential flash floods.
While researching the trail, she came across the FKT record that was set by Dan Lawson and Robbie Britton in March of 2019, breaking the previous record 14 days record that was set by British runner Alfie Pearce-Higgins and Jordanian runner Mohammad Al Sweity between 17 November and 1 December of 2017, the first to run the trail in its entirety.
Takes a Village.
The enormity of the trail meant that she could not do this on her own. Amy would work with Mohammed Razem, Co-Founder of Running Amman to help coordinate and plan the attempt. Over the coming days, and with full support from the Jordan Tourism Board led by Ahmad Bani Hani, an experienced Mountaineer and Jordan Tourism Board Adventure Tourism Coordinator, her permanent crew would include:
- Ahmad Bani Hani, an experienced Mountaineer and Jordan Tourism Board Adventure Tourism Coordinator
- Mohammad Razem, Ultra Runner, FKT Project Coordinator and Co-Founder of Running Amman
- Fouad Kalbouneh, Experienced hiker and founder of TREKS
- Ali Barqawi who would be in charge of documenting the attempt.
While she ran a lot of segments on her own, her Running Amman friends rallied to crew, support, and pace throughout the way.
The attempt started at 6:09 AM on September 25, 2020 and finished at 3:37 PM on October 3, 2020. It was completed with the support of Jordan Tourism Board, and organized by Running Amman, TREKS, and ASEZA. Amy’s attempt was live tracked by FastestKnownTimes.com using Garmin Inreach.
Amy is the first female athlete to run the entirety of the Jordan Trail, she hopes to motivate local athletes, and especially women to take on big adventures and set bold goals, and hopes the new record would inspire other athletes, local and foreign to attempt an adventure on the trail.