Melissa Woods, a teacher at Qatar Academy Doha
The significance of World Teacher’s Day is ever-evolving, including taking lessons from life and making experiences the teachers needed to shape you into who you become.
On this day, Melissa Woods, a teacher at Qatar Academy Doha, shared about her journey of adventure through running that she uses to inspire her students.
Away from making lesson plans and imparting knowledge to her pupils at Qatar Academy Doha as part of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education, she has completed 20 marathons in 20 different countries, all within the space of just two years, having only decided to start taking on the sport’s most grueling distance at the age of 40.
At one point, she ran six marathons in six nations within a week, while also participating in Iron Man competitions and becoming the first Western woman to run a marathon in Iran.
“I started running for fitness, and that was my only goal at that time - getting healthy, and using it as an outlet for stress and to keep me motivated,” said Melissa.
“I would never have expected to fall in love with running in the Middle East, where it is extremely hot, but somehow it happened - and it has honestly changed my life,” she added.
Initially, Melissa just ran a couple of kilometers in the morning or in the afternoon and hadn’t tested herself in a competitive race before moving to Qatar.
Melissa’s first marathon was in South Africa and they just kept coming in the days afterwards. “At the end of the first, I felt incredible and said ‘I’m going to do another one’,” she said.
“We have cross the border into another country, run another marathon, and then just truck along. We run all day, however long it took to complete a marathon, and have very little sleep as we would be up at 4am ready to run before the sun came up.
“By the end of those seven days and putting my body through excruciating pain, I felt amazing, like I had conquered the world. From there, it just took over,” she said.
One of the things Melissa has learned from that experience that she now passes onto her students is about not recognising limits and striving to extend their horizons.
“There were times that my body wanted to stop - my ankles were wrapped, I was swollen, and I was bruised. On one marathon in Zimbabwe, I hit a rock and came tumbling down and had to have ice on my injuries. But while my body was damaged, my mind wasn’t, and I kept going.
“I always tell everyone that it is a case of mind over matter. You’ve got to push through the pleasure, power through the pain, and just give it your all,” she said.
One of the marathon memories that most sticks in Melissa’s mind came last year, when she ran in Iran. She became the first American female to complete a marathon in Iran, running while wearing the hijab.
