About Us – Ultimate Athletics

About Our Coaches

Ultimate Athletics coaches are all high level athletes themselves and like to practise what they preach! A fun and vibrant bunch with expertise in various disciplines, from all over the Globe.

Martyn Bernard Represented Great Britain in the Beijing Olympic Games in High Jump and knows first hand being an Ultimate Athlete doesn't just happen on the track. As our Strength and Conditioning Coach, Martyn will ensure our athletes work on their power, strength, mobility and core fitness to be able to safely take their training to the next level.

From the U.K. Kimbely Baptiste current England 100m and 200m Champion, diligently works on the technical aspect of sprints in our Zayed Sports City academy. Mat Ashton has represented G.B in Cross Country and takes our elite distance running athletes through their paces at Sports City. Joseph Maynard former Welsh 800m Champion coaches the 400m specialists. Bernard Mensah is specialist in 100m and 200m from the prestigious London Club, Belgrave Harriers.

From Guernsey U.K. India Gallagher Knows first hand what it takes to win an Athletics Schlorship to compete and study in USA! She will be continuing her own training whilst also focused on developing our youth sprint development squad. What a role Model!

From USA, Youssef Rochdi Qualified with USATF qualification is an accomplished Marathon Runner based at our Abu Dhabi venues. He is the organiser of our Ultimate Cross Country Challenge and the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon Training sessions.

Khalid Al Abaidy Graduate from St Marys University London and experienced coach, ranks in the top 10 in the UK for Steeplechase and 1500m, works with our elite middle distance runners and has a wealth of knowledge from his former training partner double, double Olympic Champion Mo Farah!

Brian Aringo is our Kenyan Sprinter a bundle of explosive energy and exciting ideas which the kids love to try! We also welcome Kenyan 400m runner Grace Maina to the Team this Season and Eric Banabas from Ghana, who specialises in speed endurance with the longer sprint athletes.

From New Zealand, Yu Song is a high Jump specialist who can teach Fosbury Flop to a beginner in a matter of minutes! Joining him is, Philippa Wilson a U.K Heptathlete who also works with our young long jumpers.

Micheal Ssali a graduate with a Bachelor degree in Education and a diploma in Fitness. Micheal is a very strong Ugandan distance runner, you will see him multiple times on the Podium in local 10K races and he is well respected coach of our NBRC community. He has plenty of experience coaching middle distance and our elite long jumpers and throwers.

Coaches are available for private sessions to all our members upon request.

We are very fortunate to have sponsorship from New Balance and thank them for our stylish performance wear and event support. All Ultimate Members receive a 20% discount off New Balance gear in Go Sports stores when presenting their membership card at the counter! Check out The New Balance Run Club which is free to the public in an effort to get you moving and promote a healthy active lifestyle.

Special Thanks also to Up and Running who provide us with Medical Assistance at our Dubai Racenights. All Ultimate Members receive a 15% discount on their medical services by presenting their membership card at the Clinic.

Ultimate Athletics prides itself on having professional coaches who still compete in today! They understand what it takes to be an Ultimate Athlete and live and breathe the sport they love. Giving back to the next generation of rising stars is what drives us. Read their profile slides below.

We are very fortunate to have sponsorship from New Balance We thank them for our stylish performance wear and event support. All Ultimate Members receive a 30% discount off New Balance online and 25% in their Flagship store in Dubai Mall by presenting their membership card at the counter! Parents can join the New Balance Run Club which is free and means you can learn about running mechanics and engage with your athlete and keep fit!.

Ultimate Athletics has Partnered with FirstPoint USA to assist our talented athletes gain Schlorships to US Universities.

Ultimate members also receive 30% discount online with Monviso Water who provide us with hydration at our Dubai Racenights.

Testimonials

Oliver Demain

I have been a member of ultimate for just over 3 years. Throughout this time I have come on leaps and bounds in terms of my running ability, with my pbs improving immensely. The club and its members have always been supportive and kind, showcasing the very best of athletics. I am proud to be a part of this club and will continue to be for the coming future.

(17) Elite middle distance

Georgie Clohessy

My daughter Chloe age 9 has been training with Ultimate Athletics for 5 years now. She absolutely cannot get enough of her weekly training sessions. She loves that they vary week to week and she loves that she gets to make great friends whilst training. Her fitness levels remain consistent throughout the year thanks to Ultimate Athletics and she finds that she is able to excel in school athletics completions thanks to her year round training and various holiday camps. The coaches are extremely encouraging and supportive, they give her great feedback and work with her particular strengths as an athlete.

Chloe’s favorite part would have to be Ultimate Athletics Race Nights. The buzz she gets from competing, she describes is electric. She loves that she is pushed to the limit and she loves to try and beat her PB at each race night. She loves the atmosphere and the competitive vibe. Chloe’s diamond trophies sit proudly on her bedroom shelf. As do all her medals for various events. The prospect of a shiny diamond, definitely gives her that determination to dominate at Race Nights.

I can not recommend Ultimate Athletics enough. Chloe’s two siblings now train with the club also, and although they have very different abilities when it comes to Athletics, they all take so much away from this club.

Parent, Ultimate Athletics

Drexel Long

Summer 2017 I researched to see if the UAE had different fitness activities & sports like the ones I was doing in the states. I was able to locate Ultimate Athletics league and contacted Lisa Campbell. I was excited to continue to be an athlete while living and teaching in the UAE. I have made friends with the ladies I compete with. Its an honor to compete against them because they push me to do better each month. 2018 I won the Master’s division and Im looking forward to RECLAIMING and WINNING the Master’s division this 2019-20 season.

47, Flex with Drex

Dima Godfrey

Having done athletics at national level (100m,200m and 4 x 100m) when I was younger it had always been a part of my DNA. Once I realised UA had a platform where now as a 40-year old I could carry on this passion I had to get involved. I love the nervousness I get come race day and also the discipline that is required to maintain and improve on the track. I love the competition. I get total satisfaction from telling people my age when they see me competing as like most things they fall into the trap of thinking it’s only for the kids.
Well, it’s not and this season I plan on going faster than I ever have to dispel this myth.

40, Thomson Reuters

Rafael Roots

It’s has been a great pleasure for me to take part in the Race Night events over the past few years. Racing is not only an opportunity for me to challenge and push myself, it revives old memories of that young *me* back in high school. It’s also nice other old athletes taking part in it. We got to meet each other and share old memories which brings bonds between us. It also give a chance to inspire our younger brothers and kids.

I definitely look forward to this coming season.

Thank you for organising such a great event.

Nike Coach and Founder of the RootsCamp Fitness

Tilly Black

“I have been at Ultimate many years and enjoy it very much. All of the coaches are kind and push you to your limits. The Racenights allow you to track your progress throughout the season whilst encouraging everybody to work hard and improve PB’s (whilst still having fun!).”

Tilly Black - Age 12, Ultimate Athletics

Dannish Walker-Khan

“Ultimate athletics race nights are an awesome event to really promote athletics in the UAE. Compared to the UK the level of competition over here is completely different, so it is nice to see a company that are trying to get more and more people involved and raise the level of competition. It’s just a shame that there’s no electronic timing as it would be awesome to get on the British ranking system in future events, as the tracks and conditions are ideal for running fast times!”

Former Team GB Athlete, 27, Personal Trainer

Andy Clements

“The Ultimate 60m with New Balance is a great opportunity for athletes over 30 to challenge themselves and others from various sporting backgrounds, in a friendly but competitive all out sprint race. As a masters International 400m hurdler, although such a short sprint is out of my comfort zone, I enjoy the buzz and love meeting like minded runners. The past couple of years I’ve used the race nights as an opportunity to sharpen up, before successfully medalling at World and European championships.”

Head of PE and GB Masters 400m hurdler

Ismail Senyange

“There are a couple of reasons why I always take part in the racenight; first to inspire the young’s who wish to take running as a profession; secondly to improve my personal best especially in the 3k; third to check on the progress of my training.
With the benefits, I get to see my weakness during the race and also get to know where I loose time from when I start to tire out.
The atmosphere is quite good because you get to meet a lot of people, the cheering is good as well. The fact that there are a couple of races going on you get the see how other people are running.
I always want during my first race of the season to get my personal best time or meet record before I start tiring out with many races, so I will be heading for a personal best God willing.”

Sketchers Brand Ambassador

Kimbely Baptiste

“Ultimate Athletics racenights are a great source of competition and offers people of all ages and ability the platform to compete and test themselves. Being a National level athlete these racenights allow me to monitor how well my training is going and I am able to compete in competitive races whilst in the UAE. Quality competitions, that is well organized, that offers a great atmosphere and competitive events is hard to come by in the UAE and Lisa is doing a fantastic job of providing all 3 and more.”

26, Crawley AC/Ultimate Athletics

Megan Dingle

“Racenight is the perfect opportunity to put all the training together and into practice. It gives athletes along with their coaches a regular goal to work towards and the aim is to improve as well as maybe show areas that need improvement for next time. I look forward to getting to race against others that I don’t necessarily train with – it’s good to get together with like minded peers on a night like Racenight where we are all there to race the best we can and support each other.”

Athlete,16, Ultimate Athletics