Hundreds turn up for social run held to promote fitness

Members of running groups and employees of companies join run

Some 425 social and professional runners from all walks of life turned up for the Wellman Road Run in Meydan yesterday morning as part of the city’s ongoing drive to promote health and wellness.

The social run was arranged in three race formats — 10km, 5km, and 3km. It is a CSR event organised by Team Sports UAE under the support of the Dubai Sports Council.

Meher Un Nissa, event director, Team Sports UAE, said the participants were social and professional runners; some came from running groups, while others were representing various companies in Dubai.

“The crowd was huge and people gave a very positive response. The main highlight of the event was to promote the scope of running and physical activities. The goal was to promote health initiatives and to bring people to [embrace] sports and other activities,” Nissa told Gulf News.

“The rate of diabetes here [and other lifestyle diseases] is high and that’s because people are not walking, running or moving enough. Through activities like this, we’re able to get more and more involved in sports and motivated to stay fit,” she added.

Nissa said the youngest runner was a seven-year-old girl and the oldest was around 60. Around 150 were women. Trophies and prizes were given to the top runners in the different race categories by Dubai Sports Council officials.