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DEXTER Ali hit a wall in Sangre Grande during his 130K journey from Galeota to Chaguaramas, but urged on by his supporters he got a second life when he arrived in Valencia and kept at it until he reached the finish line.
Ali, 55, took his first step on November 1 at 5.50 pm and after 20 hours and 36 minutes removed his sneakers on the afternoon of November 2. Ali's goal of running from one end of Trinidad to the next, came just weeks after John Procope attempted to swim around Tobago. Procope fell short of his target as strong currents stopped him during the second half of his swim.
Like Procope, Ali experienced some difficulty and thought he would not make it to the finish.
Speaking to Newsday on November 3 after spending the night at West Shore Medical Private Hospital, Ali said, "Everything was going well, but just before midnight I was on the Manzanilla stretch...I would say that was the hardest part of the run because you know how long that stretch is, that is never-ending...I did not have anyone running with me at that point in time."
Describing the conditions in Manzanilla, he said, "It had a lot of wind, high winds pushing from the east, so I had to fight with that wind. Even though it was not a head wind, it was a side wind so you still have to fight the wind. When I reached (Sangre) Grande that is when we had to take a long break...they had to massage me."
Ali started to question if he made the right decision in attempting the gruelling run. "I started to wonder if I would actually make this run because I was in so much pain in my legs. (In) Grande I started to doubt myself."
Ali tried his best to recover which included a quick meal of potatoes and chicken in an effort to get a boost.
In Valencia, past the halfway stage of the run, Ali knew he had a chance to beat the road as he felt energised while the support came pouring in.
"I kicked back on to where my legs were feeling great, everything was feeling good and then I said I know I would make it now. A lot of friends started to meet me from Valencia and they would run with me on and off."
He only needed to take about four breaks of approximately 20 minutes each during the run to rejuvenate. Other than that he only took very short breaks.
[caption id="attachment_1188548" align="alignnone" width="915"] Dexter Ali, second from right, with his family. His wife Leah-Marie, from right, son Alex and daughter Hailey. [/caption]
Ali was the only person on the weekend to run the full distance, but throughout he had support runners including his wife Leah-Marie Ali and their children Alex and Hailey. His wife ran the last 30K.
"Taking on a challenge like this on my own would've been impossible without the positive support and encouragement from my coach (Derrick Simon), my wife and kids, and family and friends who joined me on the day and on the training days leading up to the event."
Ali said his additional support crew, which included a vehicle behind him with refreshments, proved to be the difference; along with Simon's intense training programme over the past nine months.
Water, Gatorade and food were some of the supplies in the supporting vehicle.
Ali, who competed in two ironman events in 2023 and 2025 in the US, wants to continue adding miles under his belt. In an ironman event, participants must complete a 3.9K swim, a 180.2K bike ride and a 42.2K run.
"I told my wife when I turn 60 I might want to do another ironman. People saying they don't want me to do any at all. They say enough is enough."
Members of his family want him to retire from those extreme runs as his latest journey did take its toll.
"I spent the night in hospital because they had to put me on drips because of all the fluids I lost." Doctors told him when you put your body through such a rigorous run it will affect you. Ali threw up a lot after the race.
His coach does not want others to try this at home as Ali had to endure nine months of extreme training to have a chance of completing the distance.
Simon said, "This is not something I will recommend as a bucket list thing. The only reason why I considered doing this is because he has a good training base and the amount of years training. He has been doing multi-sport activity, cycling and running for the last 25-30 years...the training was not easy. I don't want people to believe they could just jump out themselves and have this undertaking because there are a lot of different elements that have to be considered before you could safely take on something like this."
DEXTER Ali hit a wall in Sangre Grande during his 130K journey from Galeota to Chaguaramas, but urged on by his supporters he got a second life when he arrived in Valencia and kept at it until he reached the finish line.
The post Dexter Ali, 55, completes stunning 130K run across Trinidad appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.