ISLAMABAD: A running competition has been planned on Feb 20 by Islamabad Running Club (IRC) in coordination with the Directorate of Sports, Culture and Tourism of the Capital Development Authority /Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad.
The 10-km run will start at 11am from D-Chowk, where the participants can register themselves, and conclude at the same spot. The registrations will start at 9:30am and end at 10:40am.
Other organisers include Islamabad Cycling Association and Islamabad Capital Territory Administration and The Diabetes Centre.
Founding member IRC Bilal Ehsan told this agency that this time they were expecting around 150-200 participants.
“We believe that a healthy lifestyle is the key to beat corona virus and to improve the immunity level. Our members have had Covid-19 in the past but with the grace of Allah their active lifestyle helped them to develop good response mechanisms and they came out of it very well, said Bilal when asked about the prevailing pandemic.
At the conclusion of the event, the MCI will award cash prizes to the winners besides gift hampers, certificates and trophies to the athletes.
Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Nawazul Ameen Mengal, Deputy Commissioner ICT Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat, Deputy Commissioner Chakwal retired Capt Bilal Hashmi, Chief Officer MCI retired Capt Syed Ali Asghar, Director Sports Culture and Tourism Aamir Shehzad, CDA Deputy Secretary Shah Jehan and DDG Admin/HR MCI Laiq Zaman have been invited as special guests, who will confer the prizes to the winners.
This is the second time IRC is conducting a 10km running contest, with the first one held on New Year.
Professional and aspiring runners of both genders, belonging to Lahore, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Chakwal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the twin cities took part. The winner in the male category finished the distance in 24.15 mins while the female counterpart wrapped up in 34.17 mins.
The chief guest to the previous relay was Ambassador of UAE in Pakistan Hammad Obaid Ibrahim, who also participated along with DC Chakwal.
The running club, which offers free of charge exercise sessions for the general public in local parks, was formed in 2021 to fulfill the need of a proper running club in Islamabad. The team hopes to inculcate the spirit of healthy living by collaborating with the government and various organisations through such running events.
Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2022
