Abu Dhabi: Zayed Sports City was the venue of a pink invasion as thousands of participants ran five kilometres or 10km in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness on Friday.
Those taking part raised more than Dh50,000 for the Al Jalila Foundation, which will go towards cancer research.
The event, which was organised by Gulf Multi Sport and the Abu Dhabi Striders was an overwhelming success, organisers said, with participants of all ages and fitness levels coming together for the cause.
In addition to the main event, sponsors ADCB also provided a Wellness-On-Wheels Mobile mammogram unit that offered free mammograms to the public to encourage and support women and men to take the early detection test.
Steve Watson, Managing Partner of Gulf Multi Sport, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the reception of everyone who came to show their support. The event was all about Breast Cancer Awareness and giving back to the community, and with the support of our sponsors ADCB, Daman and Senaat, we have helped to raise money for an issue that affects a lot of people. The weather was perfect and was great to see a couple of course records being broken in the juniors races.”
“This event is very personal for me as I have close relatives who have been affected by cancer,” said Sophie Bergeron, a Pink Run participant. “I have raced in many events around the world and this one definitely has one of the best community spirits. It was incredibly well organised with great access, which means there is very little hassle getting to and from the event.”
Mubarak Al Ameri, Vice-President, Corporate Communication of Senaat, said: “It was a very well-organised event with amazing spirit from all age groups and Senaat will continue to sponsor and support such future events”.
There were also three course records set on the day. A time of 00:19:38 in the girls’ 11-13 5k category, 00:21:04 in the boys’ 11-13 5k category and 00:22:13 in the under-10 5k category.
On completion of the race, which was being held for the third year, runners were presented with a pink-inspired gift pack, an event T-shirt, finisher’s medal and post-run refreshments.
