A full marathon of 42.2 km was held yesterday in Islamabad for the first time in the city’s history. Margalla road of Islamabad saw marathon runners from all over Pakistan participating wholeheartedly in this first event of its kind.
The event also saw very healthy participation from the expat community in Islamabad.
President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, along with first lady, Samina Alvi, also gave a surprise as they participated in the Islamabad Marathon organized by the running community “Islamabad Run with Us” without any prior announcements.
The President also completed his 10 km loop and was encouraged to do such events regularly to promote a healthy environment.
This is the first time a full Marathon 42.2 km, along with Half Marathon, 21.1 km, 10 km, and 5 km categories running event was organized in Islamabad. There was also a special category race for children under the age of 14.
Over 1,000 runners participated in the event and many also joined for other cities. Hundreds of men and women from all walks of life participated in this event.
Cash prizes were awarded to the winners of the first three positions in all the categories by Chief Guest Senator Faisal Javed.
Honorable Senator appreciated the zeal of the participants and applauded the organizers for holding an event which is highlighting the great sporting potential of Pakistan both nationally and internationally.
Qasim Naz Founder of ‘Islamabad Run with Us’, commented, “We are excited to be part of this first of its kind activity in Islamabad. We have always strived to be an inclusive community with people from all walks of life encouraged to participate in our events. Today this marathon, like all 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,” he added.
All Covid related SoPs were followed strictly at the event.