Adventurer Hassan Esufally is the only Sri Lankan to have every completed a Marathon in all of the seven continents around the world. Esufally accomplished this feat in four years due to his sheer will-power and his conviction that his dreams should become a reality. Daily News met up with Esufally to discuss his adventure and what it means to him.
The Antarctic Ice Marathon was one of the toughest marathons and the last one which took place on December 13. In freezing temperatures Esufally bravery and doggedly progressed until he achieved his objective.
“The Antarctic Ice Marathon was a 42.2 km marathon on ice, where the temperature was 20 degrees in extremely difficult conditions that really pushed your limits. The visibility was extremely poor and the snow was quite deep. I could only see five meters ahead. I had to stay on the course because if I deviated I could fall into a crevasse. I had to be really careful. That day the wind was not too bad, but the previous day there was a blizzard so it was really cold. For the race there was a 10 hour time limit but they took it off because conditions were too tough. The route was safer, four laps instead of two. I finished it in eight and a half hours. So that made me really happy. It was amazing,” said Esufally.
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| Waving the flag |
Esufally started the journey of the seven continents in 2014. His first Marathon was in Melbourne, while he was studying there as a student at the University of Melbourne. That feeling of success and accomplishment at finishing the race never left him. So naturally he wanted to do another one. That was when the seven continents goal came to his mind.
Running adventures
“I wanted to do the Ironman before doing the other six. The Ironman is one of the toughest competitions in the world. (3.86 km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2 Km full marathon in a 17-hour time limit) in the Asia Pacific Championships in Cairns, Australia. So I did that in June 2016. I trained for about 10 months from August 2015 – June 2016. I did the Melbourne Marathon again in 2016. I did Stockholm Marathon (Europe) in 2017. I did Colombo Marathon 2017 for Asia. Last year I did the Boston Marathon in April (North America) and I did the Marathon run in the African Savannah amongst the wild animals in June 2018, in August I ran the world’s hardest Marathon which was the Inca Trail Marathon. And the Final one was the Antarctic Ice Marathon,” explained Esufally.
Hassan of course being human at times despaired but yet he had determination. He had courage. He was nervous before the Ironman and the Inca Trail and extremely nervous before Antarctica. But he was like a rock and did not let it affect him.
“I am a very positive person and I never give up. My wife Rashida was there with me for every single one. It was amazing to have her there. She was the wind beneath my wings. I was not alone. She was instrumental and supportive and the only marathon she couldn’t accompany me for was the Antarctic Ice Marathon, as no spectators were allowed. I honestly do not think I could have done it without her. With Antarctic Ice Marathon they do not let anyone accompany the competitors. Only 50 people got to go for the Antarctica race. It is quite a journey getting to Antarctica. I had the support from my family as well, my sponsors, the Sri Lankan Community and my coach. The Inca Trail is the world’s hardest Marathon. It is the traditional route the Inca people take to go to the sacred city in Peru, South America. Usually it takes people three nights and four days. But we were given a time limit of 24 hours. I finished it in 12 hours and 45 minutes. My wife was waiting for me at the finish line,” stated Esufally.
Esufally’s wife has been instrumental in his success handling the media and fundraising. His grandfather is his role model in life and is a huge inspiration who has always taught him to go after what he wants and follow his dreams. In business Esufally admires Richard Branson and in sports he looks up to Roger Federer and Usain Bolt. In nutshell he looks up to people who have achieved great things. He reads up on their stories and gets familiar with their mindset. Another favourite of his is Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
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| Hassan Esufally |
“To succeed at what I have done, you need to have vision. You need to believe in yourself. It helps in writing down all of your goals. You need to think to yourself – Why do I want to achieve this? You need to visualize it and put in the necessary hard work. You also need to have a plan of action. Failure is part of the entire process and you need to accept that. You need to have the right attitude here. You have to think to yourself – ‘I can learn from failure and next time I will do it even better’,” pointed out Esufally.
Survival Game
Inca trail was the toughest he says and Antarctica was the second toughest. Boston was the third toughest. That day in Boston the conditions on the day were really bad. That day was like a hailstorm and Boston is a world record breaking course. The rain and wind were so bad that he recalls that the day was freezing. The Colombo Marathon was the fourth hardest from the lot because the heat and the humidity were that bad.
“I finished all Marathons in the given time limit. Running a marathon on seven continents was really challenging and it was not easy at all. But you have to go after what you want. I am definitely someone who is a go getter! I like challenging myself. It was challenging and it was absolutely rewarding,” explained Esufally.
His day job is at his family business in the tea industry but his real passion is health and fitness, sports and nutrition.
“I have made a brand for myself in this industry and sphere. I want to start a business in health and fitness and sport. As a child I was very athletic. As a teenager I took part in many sports. I was captain of my school tennis team and the University tennis team. I did swimming, played badminton, football and took part in athletics at school. The Marathon dream came to me when I was in University,” said Esufally.
Esufally pointed out that he does not take chances with his life. When taking part in these marathons you need to have a certain fitness level, otherwise you cannot take part. When taking part in the Marathons there are governing bodies/ race directors that you need to obtain permission from. For Antarctica he accompanied a group and there was fellowship. The African Marathon and the Inca trail was a group as well with fellowship.
Exceptional experience
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| With wife |
“It was a wonderful group experience full of camaraderie, adventure and fun. I am really enjoying myself in life. I made lasting friendships with those in my group. I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this – who made this happen for me. It has been so amazing. On the Inca trail I twisted my ankle five times. So it was sheer will power there. I also found out that I had a muscle tear when I got home. I prayed to God and I believed in myself. It was tough on me at that time. We were in Antarctica for six nights and seven days and there was a blizzard there as well. Will power was involved in all,” said Esufally.
The African Marathon was amazing, it was his favourite one. There Esufally and his group crossed the Savannah on foot. They came within touching distance of the giraffes, zebras, rhinoceros and the antelopes. The lions were at a distance five kilo meters away. It was such an amazing experience. It was hot there with clear skies and it was definitely his most enjoyable race.
Esufally wants to venture out of his comfort zone and take part in events of this nature in the future.
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