Born to Run, Built to Think

Ameenuddin traded weight for miles, discovering a philosophy along the way.

Al Jalees Mind Jam:
A Runner’s Journey (2018-Present)

He weighed 130 kilograms. He had never run a race in his life. He Googled a goal, bought a pair of shoes, and started training alone in the streets. Six years later, he has crossed deserts in the Sahara, climbed mountains in France, and ran through the ancient sands of AlUla. This is the story of how Ameenuddin became a runner and what books ran with him in his journey.

In mid-2018, Ameenuddin was deep into a weight-loss journey and needed something to keep him going — a destination beyond the scale. So he searched online and found the Dubai Marathon, scheduled for January 2019. Without overthinking it, he signed up. A man with no running background had just committed to 42.2 kilometres through the streets of one of the world’s most demanding cities.

He trained alone, starting in November 2018. No coach, no club just one non-negotiable rule: four days a week, 45 to 50 minutes per session. Good days, bad days, tired days, no matter what he went out and stayed committed. What those two and a half months taught him became the foundation of everything that followed: consistency over intensity. He never got injured. He crossed the finish line and then spent the entire day in his Dubai hotel room, unable to move. His wife, however, reminded him with satisfaction that he had wanted this.

“Irrespective of the intensity, I managed to go out and do something. That consistency helped me — and I believe it is the reason I did not get injured.”

Marathon vs. Ultra

At the Al Jalees Mind Jam event, Ameenuddin drew a clear line between two types of running. A marathon is the classic 42.2 km road race which includes pavement, crowds, structure.

“Ultra running is 40% running and 60% pure planning. But that 40% of running itself will change the way you think about life. It is like delivering a report to your CEO: the hard work is done, but how you manage yourself on the day, that makes all the difference.”

It's also water management, checkpoint timing, calorie strategy, elevation study. Miss a checkpoint cutoff and your bib is cut, your race is over, regardless of how far you have come.

It is the world of raw, technical, and solitary resides— where Ameenudin’s heart truly belongs. From Dubai, he went on to run the New York Marathon (three months after his daughter was born), a 52 km Sahara Desert ultra in Tunisia, the UTMB in France (62 km, 3,000 metres of elevation, finished in 15:45:32 through 12 hours of rain), the Edge of the World in Riyadh, and the protected mountains of AlUla — terrain that opens only for race day.

Eight Books That Carried Him

Ameenuddin has never run with music. No headphones, no playlist, just his breath and the silence of whatever terrain surrounds him. What fills that silence is what he has read. Every race was accompanied by a book not physically, but deeply and necessarily.

Book 1: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday (Dubai Marathon 2019)

Control what you can. Accept what you cannot. At kilometre 32, gasping, this was not philosophy — it was survival. The quotes absorbed in training kept his legs moving when nothing else could.

“How you handle even minor adversity might seem like nothing. But in fact, it reveals everything.” 

Book 2: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (New York Marathon 2019)

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Running three months after his daughter was born, Ameenuddin found in Murakami a man who understood that running and life are not in conflict — they are the same conversation.

Book 3: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (Sahara Desert Ultra, Tunisia)

Running 52 kilometers is a joyful, natural, and free experience. Before enduring the scorching heat of the Sahara for 8.5 hours, he had to convince himself that his body was capable of such an undertaking. This book provided him with the conviction he needed.

Book 4: The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal (UTMB France)

62 kilometers of stress and meaning led to growth. Training in the scorching heat of dry Riyadh and racing through 12 hours of relentless French rain taught him that stress is not a signal to retreat but rather a signal to engage. Amidst the drenched mountains, Ameenuddin distilled all his newfound knowledge into a single, profound line of his own:

“Do not stress before the stress that will stress you to stress out.” — Ameenuddin

Book 5: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Edge of the World, Riyadh )

50 km of slow thinking leads to better decisions, but we resist it. On a trail he had run a thousand times, he trusted his instincts at a steep section and fell at kilometer 7. That day, he understood Kahneman’s theory in his body, not just in his mind.

Book 6: You’ll Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell (The darkest kilometres)

AlUla Mountain Ultra, a 48-kilometer race, presents a unique challenge. It’s not about fixing everything; rather, it’s about learning to cope and navigate through the overwhelming, massive, silent, and isolating mountains. This book served as a crucial preparation for him, as it covered the 40% of the race that takes place entirely within his mind.

You don’t have to be okay. You just have to keep going. Thirty kilometres into a trail alone, mind turning against you and you need a voice that does not offer platitudes. This book is that voice.

Book 7: The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli (Himam Trail Run, Oman)

We are wired to think negatively, and awareness is the only cure. Should we push harder or conserve energy? Should we endure pain or discomfort? Should we rely on logic or our ego? On a race course, cognitive bias can have serious consequences. Recognizing our errors is the first step toward mastering them.

The Himam Trail Run is a UTMB official race set in the Omani mountains — Jabal Al Khudair, the toughest mountains to climb in the entire GCC. Out of genuine concern, many people around him suggested he reconsider. He took that seriously. He was physically prepared, but he knew mental clarity mattered just as much. This book helped him think through the decision carefully, without noise or ego. He reconsidered, he prepared, and he ran.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Book 8: My Musings by A.G. Danish (Istanbul Marathon, Turkey, 2025)

A.G. Danish is a close friend of Ameenddin’s who wrote this book after losing his wife; a quiet collection of reflections born from grief and memory. Ameenuddin read it in Istanbul in 2025, returning to Turkey for the first time in fifteen years. The race itself is unique and it's the only marathon in the world that crosses two continents, passing through the bridge connecting Europe and Asia. He ran it slowly, deliberately, not to finish fast but to reflect. The book and the race asked for the same thing — presence.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ameenuddin’s talk at Al Jalees Mind Jam wasn’t about running. It was about what running reveals. The tools for crossing a desert consistently, accepting, being present, and moving through stress are the same for work, family, relationships, and everyday life. He never ran with music because he believed that silence was where his thoughts were formed. He kept books close by, as he understood that the right words at the right moment could make all the difference between stopping and completing a task. Eventually, he decided to start writing because he realized that the miles he had run had to be expressed somehow.

He crossed the finish line in Dubai. He ran in New York for his daughter. He completed the Sahara. He endured the French rain. He bled on a mountain he knew by heart. He stood alone in AlUla. And every time, the next morning, there was another book. Another race. Another chance to find out what he was made of.