Lama Hattab (born December 31, 1980) is a Middle Easternultramarathon runner from Jordan.[1][2] Hattab and her twin sister, Dima Hattab are known for being the first females from the Middle East to run an ultramarathon.[1][3] She is also a leader in "Generation of Peace" in Amman, Jordan.[1]
Early life
Hattab is a twin.[2] She and her sister Dima have many hobbies that they do together.[4] They grew up in Tabarbour, Jordan, near Amman.[4]
Hattab and her sister love sports. They like to run and to cycle.[4] They look for new sports to try.[4]
Running
Hattab and her sister run marathons and ultramarathons.[2][1][6][7] She ran in the Marathon de Sables and the Dead Sea ultramarathon.[8] Men were not nice to them at the marathons.[6] Hattab won the Dead Sea Marathon the first time she ran it.[1] Hattab encourages running in the Middle East, especially among young girls. [8] She is also a leader in Generation of Peace an organization in Amman, Jordan.[1] Hattab also ran in the Dead Sea in 1999 where she placed in 3rd.[7]
Hattab and her sister together ran in the national team of Jordan.[1] They were around 17 or 18 years old.[1] She ran distance races, including 800-meter and 1500 meter runs.[1] In her first half marathon, she ran her and her sister did not sign up.[1] They were among the first Jordanian women to run in marathons.[1] Their coach was in the desert but couldn’t make the race she was planning on running with her friends.[1] She changed the names and told the Hattab twins to run slow as part of their training.[1]
First, Hattab and her sister climbed the highest mountain in North Africa's Atlas Mountains.[9] In 2007, Jordan's Prince Faisal Bin Al-Hussein started a "Generations for Peace Initiative."[9] The twins climbed the mountain to get attention for the Generations for Peace Initiative.[9] They liked mountain climbing and want to climb more mountains.[9] The Jordanian OlympicsCommittee said their climb was good for peace.[9]
Their dream was to climb Mt. Everest.[5] Jordan's King Abdullah's "Development Fund" help pay for their climb.[6] But they could not get enough money to make the climb.[6] They needed US$750,000.[4] Companies did not think women can do sports, so did not give them money.[4]
Career
Hattab worked for the Jodanian Olympic Committee.[10] At work she learned about an organization called Generations for Peace.[10] In 2007, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan started that organization.[11][12] The organization used sports and art to help young people make peace in places with war or other conflict..[10][1] She volunteered to work with children.[10] She liked it and began to work for Generations for peace in 2009.[10] Hattab is now the Program Director for Generations for Peace. [13][1][14]
↑ 2.02.12.22.3Taha, K. (2007, April 11). Twin peaks: Jordan's adventure girls set their sights high. Agence France-Presse. Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.
