Qatar bound Ribble Valley athlete Nathan Riding is all heart (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Qatar bound Ribble Valley athlete Nathan Riding is all heart

4:40pm Thursday 19th January 2012 in Athletics By Gary York

BILLINGTON middle distance runner Nathan Riding is proving he’s all heart as he prepares for a life-changing career move to the Middle East.

The Ribble Valley AC member – one of East Lancashire’s most talented 800m and 1,500m athletes – heads to the tiny Gulf state of Qatar next week for a three-year course studying cardiac physiology.

Working at state-of-the-art Aspetar, a specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, Riding will learn from some of the world’s leading practitioners and researchers.

It is a remarkable opportunity for the 22-year-old, who has recently completed his master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology at Liverpool’s John Moores Uni-versity.

“I didn’t have any big plans when I was at university, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t really pass up on,” said Riding, a former Lancashire champion in the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase.

“I’ll be working with some of the best doctors in the world and the facilities out there are excellent.

“It will only benefit my education and help me in my career.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the three years. There’s no plan to be a doctor, but I think I will carry on researching in cardiac physiology.

“That’s what I enjoy doing.”

It’s said that a strong heart is a prerequisite for all top athletes – both literally and metaphorically – and, for Riding, the body’s most vital organ has become a part of his life.

“When I was at college, I wanted to study sports science because I was looking at developing my own running, and wanted to understand a lot more about what I was doing,” he said. “The heart is such a small organ, but the most important thing in the body. It’s such an interesting subject.”

Riding was scheduled to move to Qatar before Christmas until visa problems held up his departure from the UK.

But red tape issues have now been resolved, and the Lancastrian cannot wait to start the next chapter of his life in the wealthy yet, blisteringly hot, Arab state.

“It’s quite daunting, but I’m excited at the same time,” he said.

“Life in Qatar will be so much different to being in England. The change in culture is the biggest thing.

“Obviously it’s going to be hot. It’s about 25 degrees at this time of year, which is quite nice, but it can reach 50 in the hotter months. I’m not sure I’ll like that!

“But the facilities are brilliant out there and Qatar seems to be going places.

“They will be holding the football World Cup in 2022 and that’s a massive thing for the country.”

For the time being, Riding will put competitive running on the back burner as settling down in new, unfamiliar surroundings comes first.

But the Ribble Valley athlete, who also runs for Newham and Essex Beagles, is very proud of what he has achieved on the local and national scene.

He clinched the 1,500m county title in 2009, and also claimed silver medals at both the North of England and AAA Indoor Championships.

With Newham and Essex Beagles, he has run alongside Great Britain’s gold medal Olympic hope Mo Farah in national relay events.

Riding said: “Athletics has been a huge part of my life, ever since I first started running when I was about eight years old.

“I’m fortunate that I’ve experienced a lot of good things, such as winning a few medals in national competitions. I still want to compete in the future.”