Qatar T100 Race report – Sported

A nice end-of-year-race to close out the first half of the triathlon season and first time to race in Qatar. I have had some health and fitness issues this year, arthritis in my knees, and in June I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary embolism which required a three day hospital staycation and some time off intense workouts. By September I was able to start building back towards my normal fitness levels under the careful guidance of the coaching team at Trisutto. I was warned about the potential dangers of coming back too quickly and only dipped my toe back into racing at Olympic Distance at the Khorfakkan Triathlon in October. With that under my belt I knew I could push onto the next level and decided to target T100 in Qatar.

I have lived in the Middle East for over 25 years yet never raced in Qatar so I wanted to tick that one off the list. The logistics were fairly easy with regular FlyDubai flights, although paying for both extra luggage and a “sports equipment” is a bit annoying. Lusail was the race venue with several 4 and 5 start hotels within 2-3km of transition. The Waldorf Astoria must be one of the nicest “race” hotels that I have ever stayed in – perfect for a hot bath after the event and a post race meal in Sushi Samba. Outside of the hotels though there is very little in that area and the neighborhood was dead.

There is quite a bit of negative chat on various podcasts about triathlons in the Middle East, commenting on the lack of spectators at the pro events, the absence of a local triathlon scene, the climate being too hot and boring courses. The inference being that T100 (and IronMan) are only doing it for the money. Mess ups over the timing of the Mens pro race in Dubai only add fuel to the fire. As we know this overlooks the fact that the UAE has some of the best training facilities in the world with hundreds of kilometers of dedicated cycling tracks, excellent pools, safe swimming areas and deciated running tracks. Not to mention the thriving local tri community, weekends packed with events  and the fact that TriDubai has one of the largest memberships of any TriClub in the world. Triathlon is a young sport and the uptake will only increase as leading event brands such as T100, IronMan and Challenge bring world class events to the region.

The organization of the race in Qatar was good for a first time. Non-wetsuit 2km swim,

safe 4 x 20km lap bike course

and a 3 x 6km run course, along the sea front which made for good views and some cool breeze. I completed the race in 4:48:57 a PB 😊and received an email saying that I have qualified for the T100 World Championship next year. I will probably go for it!

I did experiment with something new during the race. I normally have a pure electrolyte drink or a STEALTH training mix pre swim to ensure I am fully hydrated and usually consume an isotonic gel 5 minutes before “Go Time”. For this race I decided to take 500ml of BIGr Endurance (100g of carbs) while I was waiting for the swim to start. I have used BIGr Endurance on the bike in training and I have had good results so I was confident that there would not be any adverse reaction. It worked well for the 2km, 40 minute swim and I will definitely be using it again.

By David Hunt certified TriSutto coach

Posted on 18th Dec 2025