Qatar aims high as Samla endurance race goes international

The popular event will invite participants from across the world from 2026, with a prize pool of $300,000

Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, CEO of Visit Qatar, and Azzam Al Mannai, CEO of Samla race organising committee. Photo: Visit Qatar

Qatar will for the first time open up its popular endurance event, the Samla International Race, to competitors from around the world next year.

The gruelling 100km event involves four disciplines – a 3km open water swim, 49km run, 44km mountain bike and 4km kayaking – to be completed in under 12 hours

The Samla race was first launched for local participants in 2017 and quickly became a highlight of Qatar’s sporting calendar.

Now, organisers of the inaugural international edition of the race are offering an attractive prize fund of $300,000, with the winners of the men's and women’s races taking home $50,000 each.

The introduction of the international edition marks a significant milestone, aligning with Visit Qatar’s vision to position the country as a premier global sports destination for sports tourism and world-class competition.

The Gulf state already has a strong reputation as hosts of international events. The Qatar Open tennis tournament, first staged in 1993, is one of the longest-running annual events in the region. Other permanent fixtures include golf's Qatar Masters, world athletics' Diamond League meet, and a Formula One Grand Prix, to name a few. In 2022 they became the first nation in the Middle East to host the Fifa World Cup.

“Actually, we are proud to announce that a Qatari product or Qatari idea that started in 2017 as a local event and held over the past five years is now going global,” Jassim Al Mahmoud, director of PR and communication at Visit Qatar, told The National.

“Back in the day, the Samla race was held over three days, covering a distance of over 200 kilometres and completed under 60 hours. It also included a round of target shooting in between the swim, run and mountain bike legs, testing the mental edge of the participants.

“We thought the 100km race, to be completed under 12 hours, is more appropriate and attractive for the international athletes. Such events have become a trend with the sustainability efforts of using natural resources.”

The event was put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic and again in 2022 as Qatar successfully hosted the World Cup. Al Mahmoud, a former footballer and volleyball player who represented Qatar at national level missed out on competing then, but says the experience of training and preparing for the race helped him value the product even more.

“The Samla race was not held during Covid and the plan of resuming it also never took off because it clashed with the 2022 World Cup," he says.

“I was a bit disappointed that the race wasn’t held that year as planned but the positives that I took forward was the experience of my training for 10 months, which I realised as being part of this international event.

“During this time, I trained for four hours every day for 10 months. I just got out of home and started running, and then it became a routine. I felt super-fit and could complete the 100km race at that time.

“I’m glad this event has been revived and gone global. Personally, the experience of preparing for this race has given me a better idea now as part of the team organising this event.”

Al Mahmoud believes registrations will exceed expectations and the race is made more memorable by the Qatari landscape.

“It’s a unique race for those already competing in various extreme and endurance sports,” he added.

Back in the day, the Samla race was held over three days, covering a distance of over 200 kilometres and completed under 60 hours

Jassim Al Mahmoud,
director of PR and communication at Visit Qatar

“It will be one of the best events that we will host. We can sense it already, because endurance athletes or endurance sports has become the new trend nowadays. The numbers for these endurance races are on the rise.”

The Samla International 100 is slated for January 24, 2026, and traverses through the south of Qatar to Khor Al Adeid and back.