‘Train during lunch breaks’: How Oxford professors, scientists prepared for Dubai Games
Women professionals train during lunch breaks, run at night, and on way back from work
Dubai: The ongoing Dubai Games have attracted a remarkable blend of talent from all over the world.
In the ‘Battle of Cities’ category, athletes representing Team Oxford caught attention. The diverse group, formed after their participation in the Ninja Warrior UK show, includes a university professor, a scientist, an entrepreneur, and others — all coming together because of their love for obstacle course races.
Despite their demanding careers, they have found a way to balance their professional lives with their passion.
Beth Lodge, a senior scientist at Oxford Nanopore Technologies, used to train during her lunch break while preparing for the Games.
“Working as a scientist, we have set hours, which we try and stick to, but sometimes you run over,” she told Gulf News, noting that her job often required late nights in the lab, especially when experiments were running long.
“But I try to have set days that I train on. In the build-up for this, I’ve been trying to train in my lunchtime,” said Lodge.
While juggling work, training, and the renovation of her house, she has learned to adapt and prioritise. “Training became more of a priority in the lead-up to this event,” she underlined.
‘Run home from work’
Meanwhile, Rebecca Neal, a principal lecturer at Bournemouth University, has an even more intense work-life balance to manage. As the captain of the UK’s national team for international obstacle racing, her rigorous training routine often included late-night runs in the cold, rainy streets of England, just to fit in her workout between teaching sessions.
“I am a professor, and teaching students takes up many hours of my day. I find myself running in the dark and the cold of England in the rain at 10pm at night just to get my training in,” Neal said.
“It’s hard work. But, the team helps me get me through. I have a training plan. I try and maximise that by sort of running on my way home from work,” she underscored.
The elite female athletes in Team Oxford are joined by four men: Tommy Matthews, Arran, Rob Chamberlain and Dasos Gonnella.
“There’re some hard obstacle courses. But we’ve got some great ideas. We’re just going to do our best to execute as best as we can,” they said.
The finals of the Games will take place at Dubai Festival City on Sunday.
