Why I Choose Discomfort – Asma Hilal Lootah on marathon running and wellness

Asma Hilal Lootah, founder of The Hundred Wellness Centre, reflects on marathon running, endurance, and why choosing discomfort has become an essential part of her wellness journey.

There is a moment in marathon running when the noise begins.

It is not the roar of the crowd or the hum of the city hosting the event, but rather it is a quiet, persistent voice inside your head. It is the one that challenges your resolve and asks you to confront why you are still moving forward.

That internal dialogue will be familiar to anyone who has chosen to do something genuinely difficult, and it is the reason I continue to choose an activity that many people recognise as gruelling.

Why I Don’t Avoid Discomfort

People often assume that because I work in wellness, I want to avoid discomfort. That wellness must mean softness, ease and constant self-care.

But I don’t experience marathon running as discomfort in a negative sense. I see it as a challenge – an honest one – that asks something real of me.

Running has taught me that the real work doesn’t happen in the legs. It happens in the mind.

Somewhere past fatigue, there is a moment when negotiation ends. You hear the voice suggesting you slow down, stop, or take the easier route but you continue in spite of it. When that internal threshold is crossed, something shifts.

There is a quiet triumph in realizing that discomfort can be encountered without being obeyed. That understanding carries beyond running. Life feels more navigable, not because it becomes easier, but because the trust you have in yourself deepens.

What it takes

To be honest, I didn’t set out to become a marathon runner. I started with half marathons, and one challenge naturally led to another. Each finish line brought the same feeling – not pride in a medal, but the deep satisfaction of completing something that required patience, discipline and consistency.

Running strips away ego quickly. You might feel strong and capable, only to be overtaken by someone decades older, moving lightly and steadily. It is humbling, grounding, and deeply inspiring.

I believe marathon running is where wellness and endurance meet. They are not opposites. Endurance demands recovery, self-awareness and restraint. Training intelligently, resting properly, and listening to the body are acts of wellness. Outcomes in running cannot be forced. They are earned slowly through consistency and respect for limits.

Discipline has not always come easily to me

Often, my focus wavers and my motivation fades. Indeed, showing up day after day can feel harder than the run itself. But, training forced me to confront these tendencies I have. Committing to the process – and staying with it – became its own quiet victory. Following through, and not abandoning myself when things became uncomfortable, has been deeply empowering.

Patience becomes unavoidable. Progress is slow and often invisible. Running teaches grace – the ability to trust the process and continue showing up even when the mind looks for escape.

A moment from running the London Marathon that has stayed with me...

I was running with a pacer when an older man beside me, running with his son, slipped on a discarded water bottle and fell hard. He was shouting in pain. Every instinct urged me to stop and help. I kept running, aware that stopping would likely mean I would not be able to continue.

It was a deeply uncomfortable decision that revealed something important. Endurance sometimes requires discernment – and sometimes it means trusting that others will step in while you continue forward.

Building Anticipation and the New York Marathon

Choosing something hard carries meaning long before race day. Training is done simply for the chance to stand at the start line. Applications are submitted. Waiting follows. Hope builds. Travel often comes next – crossing time zones, arriving with anticipation and tired legs.

In New York, that meant waking at 3:30am, boarding a bus before sunrise, waiting hours to begin. The race opens by climbing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, surrounded by thousands of strangers who feel like companions. Five boroughs unfold, five bridges are crossed, and the crowds cheer for everyone equally.

At one point, a stranger ran alongside me and offered a gummy, smiling as he said, “It’s halal.” For me, that moment was quietly profound. Differences in religion and nationality were abandoned – instead we were simply people supporting one another through something hard.

Asma bearing the UAE flag at the NYC marathon

Running as an Extension of My Wellness Practice

The “marathon experience” is not separate from my work in wellness. It is an extension of it. I train openly. Every Tuesday, I meet my coach at the centre. We run drills outside. Clients pass by and wish me luck.

Running brings emotions and memories to the surface of your mind. You find yourself recalling anger, old conversations and also moments of joy. Over time, something softens. Space appears and healing happens, but it is not rushed, it is earned.

I am not a fast runner, but what matters is finishing what I start. I love running, and I will continue.

What's next for me

My dream is to complete all six World Marathon Majors. As I approach fifty, I hope women and especially Emirati women my age see my endeavours not as an exception, but as an invitation.

Not everything we choose must be comfortable in order to be beneficial to us. Some things are meant to challenge us, because on the other side of that challenge is a quieter, deeper strength that remains long after the challenge – or in my case, the race – is over.

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About the author: Asma Hilal Lootah is the Emirati founder of The Hundred Wellness Centre, Dubai's longest standing Pilates studio.