Dubai: An expatriate completed a 200km-run in 24 hours to help collect toys for children suffering from cancer in Pakistan.
Russian Olga Zolotova, 25, started her run at the Jumeirah open beach by the Burj Al Arab, on December 29, 2015, and ran up and down the beach line touching areas, including Jumeirah Beach Residence, Al Sufouh and Satwa. The 24-hour run ended on December 30 after running and walking for a total of 22.5 hours.
Taking no more than 10 minute breaks after each 10-15km, Zolotova combined running and walking to achieve her goal. “I trained for the last five months by breaking the 200km into six sections of 15km, and 11 sections of 10km. My goal was to run the distance of five marathons by running for 20 minutes and walking for five — I managed to keep some combination of both throughout,” said Zolotova.
The Dubai resident’s aim to complete the challenge was announced prior to her run, with the main purpose being to collect and distribute toys to patients at the Children Cancer Hospital (CCH) in Karachi.
“We managed to collect 100kg of toys from Dubai residents, which were sent to the children on December 27 by Egypt-based charity organisation Marwa Fayed’s Toy Run and Aramex,” she said.
Based on Karachi Cancer Registry statistics, it is estimated that about 7,000 to 7,500 children get cancer every year in Pakistan. Today, there are more than 50,000 children in Pakistan suffering from cancer and more than 10,000 are currently in hospital.
Zolotova achieved her first challenge for charity in October 2015, when she cycled 400km solo across seven emirates in 24 hours. The challenge was dedicated to support children’s education in developing countries, with a local charity organisation. “I am planning to cycle one marathon in each emirate in a period of seven days in March. That will be my next challenge for charity,” she said.
