Shaheer Ahmed
The second Islamabad Marathon, which was organised by runners from the Islamabad Run With Us (IRU) group, drew hundreds of participants from several cities as well as members of the diplomatic corps stationed in Pakistan on January 29. The 42.2 KM marathon run had ideal weather, and there were much more participants this year than there were the year before.
IRU worked with the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme to dedicate the event with the theme Race To End Polio in Pakistan in order to raise awareness and inspire the public to vaccinate young children under the age of 5 against polio.
The Islamabad Marathon 2023 was organized with full support of District Administration Islamabad, District Health Office and Capital Traffic Police. Qasim Naz, the founder of Islamabad Run With Us said that the main objective of the event was to promote healthy lifestyle, promote marathon tourism and project a positive image of Pakistan all over the world.
With the beautiful Maragalla Hills in the backdrop, the runners also passed through the scenic jungle at Shakarparian as they completed their 21.1 and 42.2 km distances.
The event had a great turnout of families, including the old and little ones, who came to cheer on the runners. The five separate divisions in the running competition were designed to attract widespread participation from people of all ages and athletic abilities. The categories that were generally selected for adults and teenagers were full marathon (42 km), half marathon (21 km), 10 km, and 5 km running.
Children under the age of 14 were given a specific category for the “Kids Fun Run” to encourage them, and they took part with great enthusiasm. The top 3 winners in each category received cash prizes to motivate the runners.
