Thousands turn out for stroke awareness fun run
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE turned out for the ‘Sang Nam Jai Thai Nation’ fun run events at Saphan Hin and Kamala Beach last Sunday morning (Oct 29), held as part of a national series of events to promote awareness of strokes and their debilitating effects.
The annual event is held in honour of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, with this year marking the ninth event, held under the theme “Thailand without Strokes”.
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and his wife Ms Busadee led the host of officials marking the start of the main event at Saphan Hin, organised through the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO).
Phuket had the secondhighest number of registrants of all 77 provinces in the country, and the highest turnout of all provinces in Southern Thailand, the PPHO reported. A total of 16,982 people throughout the South registered to join the event.
The event at Kamala saw local participants proceed along a five-kilometre course, with the choice of walking or running. A similar-lngth course from Saphan Hin led through the streets of Phuket Town.
“Cerebrovascular disease is an important public health problem in the world and in Thailand,” PPHO Chief Dr Kusak Kukkiattikoon noted.
“In Phuket, in 2022 there were 1,191 stroke patients and 129 deaths from strokes, and so far in 2023 there have been 1,107 stroke patients and 53 deaths,” Dr Kusak added.
The aim of the event was to promote awareness of strokes, and to encourage people to exercise and live healthy lifestyles, he concluded.
The Phuket News