Two Filipino expats in Qatar has attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the “fastest crossing of Qatar on foot” and successfully clinched the titles.
In 1 day, 6 hours, 23 minutes, and 42 seconds, fitness trainer Michelle Butiu has achieved the “fastest crossing of Qatar on foot” for the female category on April 6, 2023. Meanwhile, Romil Putong Abule attained the same record for the male category in 1 day, 8 hours, and 59 minutes on October 20, 2022.
In an online interview with The Filipino Times, Butiu shared that her preparation to set a world record took her a year. With the help of her mentor, she was able to train the most important part of her body for the challenge—not her feet—but her mind.
“First thing I did as a player for this event is to set my mental toughness. I had to train my mind to be calm and always be ready to accept failure. Secondly, I had to focus on improving my body condition wherein I needed to have a proper discipline in my sleep. I also had to consider the nutrients I needed to intake to adapt my body on this kind of endurance training,” Butiu said.
Beating the previous record of 1 day, 6 hours, and 31 minutes, Butiu said that she is still on cloud nine, as she couldn’t believe that she reached this far in her journey despite having setbacks.
“This was my second attempt this year. The first one was on March 3, 2023 but there was an unexpected thing that happened that we didn’t consider. But instead of embracing the sadness, I stood up and continued my training and then after a month I decided to do it again, and the result was amazing with the help of my supportive teammates,” she explained.
After two gruelling attempts, Butiu started again the process of submitting the required documents to Guinness. She sent the videos of her entire run, as well as the watch she used to track its GPS and prove that she crossed the 190-km track. Just after ten days, Guinness responded to her and it completely changed her life.
Beaming with pride for representing the Philippines, Butiu dedicates her success to her home country and all the women who aspires to do great things.
“To all Filipinos who want to do such an extraordinary record, always put in your mind that you need to be patient on the goal you want to achieve. Always find people you can trust to make these things possible,” she said.
“Don’t be afraid to experience failure, because in every failure there is always happiness, success, and lastly victory!” she added.
On the other hand, record-holder for the male category Romil Putong Abule said that he initially started his journey as a way to cope up with home sickness.
According to a post on the Guinness World Record website, Abule left the Philippines in 2012 and he took up running as a distraction from his home sickness as soon as he arrived in Qatar. Right there and then, he embarked on his running journey and did not quit for ten years until he got the world record.
In a report from Qatar Tribune, Abule started the challenge at Al Ruwais in Qatar at 5:30pm on October 20 and continued to Qatar’s major highways. However, he had to pause every hour to make a 2-minute documentation with a number of witnesses—more than 30 persons of different nationalities—which is required since there was no Guinness adjudicator.
He had submitted all the needed documentation last year, and Guinness replied to him on April 28 saying that his application had been approved seven months after he filed it.
Breaking the previous record of 1 day, 10 hours, 19 minutes, and 18 seconds, Abule is thankful for the people who helped to make his dream a reality.
According to the Guinness World Record Website, he aims to be recognized as one of the best Filipino runners in Qatar—and now he officially is one.
Indeed, Filipinos all over the world continue to excel in every field they join in, as long as they work hard for it. Butiu and Abule have etched their names in history, as they now hold world record titles that anyone could just dream of having.
