Mum of two overcomes heart trouble to run 10k

Rama Chakaki, who has surgery 12 times, will tackle the Dubai Standard Chartered race for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.

Despite having a pacemaker, Rama Chakaki trains with her friend Mahmoud Abu-Wardeh to run the 10km in the Dubai Marathon. Sarah Dea / The National

DUBAI // Running a 10-kilometre race can be a daunting task for someone who has never competed in one before.

For Rama Chakaki, 42, there is an additional challenge - she has had 12 heart surgeries since 1996 and has a pacemaker.

"Its definitely a challenge," said the American. "I know I can overcome it because I have been pushing my limits."

On January 27, she will be joined by more than 350 others running for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund in the Dubai Standard Chartered race.

Eleven of the charity's runners will undertake a full marathon.

"[Deciding to exercise more came after] I was told I might need a heart transplant. I was on medication, in and out of hospitals for two years with a very bleak outlook," said Ms Chakaki, who is the mother of two teenagers. She decided not to let her illness take over her life or get her down and started challenging herself to improve her fitness.

The 10km run comes four years after she climbed Mount Kinabalu, on the island of Borneo, the highest mountain in south-east Asia.

"It's a very vertical climb, which was a lot of fun," said Ms Chakaki.

She also learned how to Scuba dive and is now certified as an instructor.

"If you sort yourself out emotionally and focus on the positives, you will do [whatever you set your mind to].

"Every time I've had surgery, I came out stronger," she said.

Ms Chakaki's doctor was not fazed by her desire to run the race and said she was healthy enough.

"The batteries [in my pacemaker] are working and I have to make sure I am monitoring my heart," she said. "The exciting thing is I am not running alone."

Dr Wael Abdulrahman Almahmeed, the deputy chief medical officer and head of the cardiology, heart and vascular institute at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, said it was encouraging to see Ms Chakaki taking on such challenges.

"There should be a lot more people doing it," he said. "Once people get heart disease or an issue with their heart they tend to not exercise as much."

Many people believe heart disease limits their options but it should not, added Dr Almahmeed.

"With proper advice and follow-up by doctors, most people go back to exercising," he said.

Today, Ms Chakaki will undertake her last long run, 8km, before she tapers off her training for the rest of the week.

For the past few months, she has been working out in the gym and pounding the pavement alongside Jumeirah Beach.

"I've done charity walks before but nothing like this," she said.

Ms Chakaki spent some of her youth in Saudi Arabia, where women were not encouraged to compete in athletics.

"By the time I got to the US, it was kind of too late. The only thing I did regularly was swim. Running is not easy nor easy to build muscle.

"I don't think I started [training] early enough, although last year I wanted to do it [but] I didn't have the mental will. But this year it kicked in," she said.

Ms Chakaki said she was driven to compete in the race by a desire to help the children's fund.

"It's leading by example but also trying to do as much as possible to raise awareness of what the kids are going though," she added.

Ms Chakaki started out as a volunteer for The Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and last year her company helped to build an online community for the fund.

She has now been appointed to its board of directors in Dubai.

"The kids that we deliver medical care to are mostly victims of war and they've got war wounds," she said.

"Some of them have illnesses and congenital diseases and you really see a broken spirit."