UAE all set for Olympic Day Run

Dubai: The National Olympic Committee (NOC), UAE Athletics Federation (AF) and McDonald's UAE on Tuesday announced the final details of the Olympic Day Run that is set to take place on Friday at the Al Mamzar beach road.

More than 4,000 runners expected to take part in the event.

The announcement was made during a press conference held at the NOC premises in the presence of Dr Mousa Abbas, NOC general manager, Sahar Al Owbad, member of AF board, Abdullah Al Noubi, NOC public relations manager, and Mazin Al Sous, representative of McDonald's, the sponsor.

Dr Abbas said the race is being organised according to the International Olympic Committee to celebrate Olympic Day and we decided to organise this race for all categories, men, ladies and children, with gifts to be presented for winners. No prize money will be given.

"We in the National Olympic Committee support all initiatives that the UAE community will benefit from. The Olympic Day Run is one of the most races linking the NOC with the society and it include races for all categories: men, women and children, which means all the family can take part and enjoy a nice day on November 7th at Al Mamzar park," Dr Abbas.

Sa'ad Al Mehri, general secretary of AF, said his organisation was happy to share the same fundamental objectives with McDonald's.

"Encouraging people to adopt active lifestyle is a major challenge and we are keen to harness the McDonald's Olympic Day Run to address it," said Al Mehri.

Rafic Fakih, managing director, McDonald's UAE, said in a statement that McDonald's was sponsoring the Olympic Day Race annually.

"The Olympic Day Run is part of our annual calender of events that aim at encouraging the local society to blend sport activities in their daily routine, and we are glad to see it evolving and to witness an increasing number of participants every year," said Fakih.

"We would like to thank the UAE Athletics Federation and National Olympic Committee for their valuable contribution to this progressive success.

"We look forward to the excitement on November 7, in the event that we bring to you as part of our official sponsorship of the Olympic Games. We are expecting thousands of participants from different ages and backgrounds in the race and we hope that everyone will enjoy a pleasant and healthy experience," he said.

The event consists of two races. A 2.5-kilometre race for children between eight and 12 years starts at 3 pm. A five-km race for runners above 12 years of age starts at 4 pm.

All the runners will collect their race package between 10am and 1:30pm. It contains the Olympic Day Run T- shirt and a cap.

The event will also feature the "McDonald's clubs championship", a competition between professional athletes from several sport clubs, at 3:30 pm.

Trophies and gifts (TVs, mobile phones, photo frames, and portable DVDs), will be awarded to the top 10 runners in each category.