From the Sloppy Joe who lived with the sole aim of binging anything junk and aimlessly leading life without any direction to being a disciplined soul guided by the fitness compass and ever cautious about every morsel of nutrient going into the body, this is Helmi Faisal and below is my story!

One among the millions of expat community who has blessed to breathe the Saudi air from childhood, I was following the footsteps of most kids with near zero exposure to any sort of recreational activity; the only exercise I indulged in was perhaps snacking – from Albaik to KFC – Chicken to Shrimps – you name the Sauce and I had it covered!

Growing up to teenage years, it dawned on me the need to appear smart – thanks in parts to the explosion of soap operas and movies where every star would be in great shape and be immaculately dressed. So I began to do a little bit of moving, swimming but the reflection in my mirror was anything close to where I wanted to be.

I was about 15 when I first started my tryst with the fitness world. After having enrolled in a nearby gym, I tried to give it my all to appear muscular. Soon I would realize, being muscular and being fit was up to the interpretation of the individual. To me, I was not content with the muscle mass I was putting on. Deep inside, there was still a sense of dissatisfaction within me. It appeared to me that following the herd was no great fun.

Yet with no other means, I resigned myself to the mundane routine of oiling the gym machine regularly until late 2019, when I came across this small but rapidly growing triathlon community in my very own Jeddah – Jeddah Tribe. Having never experienced active sports throughout my childhood, I decided to explore the sport with the community.

Little did I know of what lay ahead. To begin with, I signed up to participate in what would be my very first training event for Triathlon. I was all pumped up. It was actually the first time that I was going to run – like in a real sporting event. Up until then, athletics was not at all my genre. Now, Triathlon is a whole different beast in that you are required to do different sporting events in sequential order all in a short burst of time – typically swim, cycle and run -usually in that order. The demand from my body was unprecedented. Never before had I put my body to such endurance or stress.

Incidentally, I had gotten into the habit of running a few months prior to this. I was naive enough to believe that this running will actually help me do a Triathlon. Luckily for me, I decided to try my hand at swimming and running on my own a few days prior to the training event. To my great horror, I realized that I could barely swim 1 lap straight in a 25m pool!! Imagine my horror at having signed up for Super Sprint Distance i.e. ( 400m Swim, 10Km Bike, 2.5km Run). Clearly, I had to take a step back and so I immediately mailed Jeddah Tribe asking to be recused from the event. They were kind enough to agree but insisted that I come for the event as a spectator. Now I will say that was the day my life changed!.

After having witnessed the event first hand, I got an adrenaline rush like no other! I imagined myself to be amidst the participants. There were no second thoughts; I signed up for the next event and decided to take the plunge right there.

I trained hard for the next two weeks to prepare myself for the super sprint event. Every day, I ran, swam and did all I could to bike as much as possible. Finally, when the day arrived, I struggled every bit but managed to complete the whole distance – 400m swim, 10 Km Bike and 2.5 Km run. It felt like the swim was never-ending and I would come out of the open water in flesh and bone. Then the biking and the running was me stretching myself to the limits to somehow make sure I completed the event. As Paulo Coelho says, when you start on a journey with all your heart, the whole universe will conspire to let you reach your destination. So it was with great faith and greater spirit that I started my journey into the Triathlon world by completing the first training event.

It was not rocket science for me to figure out that I had to get a grip over myself and train really hard to get better at this. The fact that I completed the event was no consolation for me; instead I was determined to figure out the best techniques to get better at each of the individual sports. While catching up with fellow participants after the race, I noticed this young man demonstrating certain strokes and breathing techniques about swimming. I mean he sure as hell sounded like a professional. Initially, I tried to recollect what he said and tried doing the same during my swimming practice but soon I realized, it was not leading me anywhere. So I decided to reach out to Faisal Al Sharif to help me prepare better. It was only later that I realized that I was getting mentored by the top league triathlete in the kingdom!

The training went on point and as time passed, I started getting better not only at my swim but also at running and cycling. My life was changing and a strong sense of purpose was dawning on me. Deep inside, I felt the need to push myself further and decided to register for an international event – to test myself and help me get acquainted with other equally passionate triathletes from around the world.

So with great belief and excitement, I signed up for ITU Abu Dhabi 2020. I got into training preparation and luckily for me, the time also coincided with the Jeddah Tribe deciding to have their first season which included a series of multi-sport races – Triathlons, Duathlons & Aquathon. I religiously took part in each of the races. With each event, I was discovering new flaws in my techniques while at the same time, learning how to overcome them. At the end of each race, I made it a ritual to reflect over the event and try to figure out how to make better progress in the next event. I was constantly benchmarking my performance and soon enough was beginning to enjoy the races.

Now the ITU event eventually got called off with the onset of COVID-19. But my journey with the Jeddah tribe continued unabated. On September 26, the last of the triathlon event took place concluding the season 1. When I reflect back on my journey, it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and elation in having participated in each of the races.

I still remember the day I got a call from Ata Elyas (Coach- Jeddah Tribe). After evaluating my timings based on the first few training sessions, he had asked me what was my plan with regard to this sport. Being completely clueless at that point, I told him that I wanted to keep improving while having fun and that is when he asked me if I was looking at podium finishes. At that point, I never knew what it was to be on the podium as I had never participated in any athletic events of any sort during my school or University days. But after standing on the podium for three times out of the four races this season, I am surely looking at training harder and improving my game to put the best version of myself ahead for the future races.

I cannot thank you enough – Jeddah Tribe for making me a triathlete. You have given me a new direction and my life has changed for perpetuity! If it was not for each one of you and your constant motivation and dedication towards nurturing individuals, some as me who had absolutely no clue as to what a triathlon is, this tribe would not have grown.

May our tribe flourish,
May we always relish,
The small moment and the bigger joys,
The ecstasy of the finish and the discovery of our flaws,
Let time be witness and a mute spectator
to our every step and endeavor.