Hundreds of men and women from all walks of life poured onto the Margalla road of Islamabad on Sunday as the capital city held its first-ever full marathon of 42.2 kilometers on Sunday.
Over 1,000 runners of all ages from across Pakistan participated in the event of its kind. The marathon also saw considerably healthy participation from the expatriate community.
President Dr Arif Alvi and first lady Samina Alvi had surprise participation in the event organized by ‘Islamabad – Run With Us’ (IRU) and Adams Foods in collaboration with the city administration.
The president ran a 10 km loop and applauded the organizers for holding a healthy event. He also encouraged the organizers to hold similar events on regular basis to promote a healthy lifestyle and a healthy environment.
Besides the 42.2 km full marathon, the event also had:
- A half-marathon run of 21.1 km
- A 10 km running event
- A 5 km running event
- A special category race for children under the age of 14
Senator Faisal Javed was the chief guest of the event. He distributed cash prizes among the winners of the first three positions in all categories.
Faisal Javed appreciated the enthusiasm of the participants and commended the organizers for holding such an event to highlight the great sporting potential of Pakistan both nationally and internationally.
About Islamabad Run With Us:
IRU was established in September 2016 by a group of running enthusiast friends with the aim of creating a running community that supports and encourages a healthy and active lifestyle through group events and participation. The main aim of the community is to foster and bolster a running culture in Islamabad and its neighboring cities.
The founder of Islamabad Run With Us (IRU), Qasim Naz said the event was organized to emphasize a clean and green environment,
“We are excited to be part of this first-of-its-kind activity in Islamabad. This marathon, like our other events, also emphasized a clean and green environment. Through this activity, we wish to promote Pakistan internationally and bring Islamabad on the yearly full marathons calendar that even international athletes will participate in,” Qasim Naz said.
