SALALAH, Aug 29 - The Salalah Half-Marathon, which was one of the concluding events of the Salalah Tourism Festival, was more social than a sports event due to its appeal across the communities and message for health awareness which was received well by the participants. The marathon organisers TRI-ME were surprised over the response and enthusiasm among the participants which included all levels of athletes, sports enthusiasts and even common health conscious people. The variety of the participants could be understood from the fact that the one who finished first in 1 hour 16 minutes was Saleh al Saidi, while the gentleman who finished last could cover the 21-km distance in 3 hours and 54 minutes.
The marathon route (starting point) was Salalah Tourism Festival (STF) ground to the old airport and back again to the STF ground.
The event, according to the organisers, was the third edition of annual series and would continue in future with better route and facilities.
Talal al Mashali, Director of the STF, appreciated the efforts of the half-marathon’s organisers and exhorted them to bring the forth edition again to Salalah.
One of the participants, Sanjeev Singh, was happy over his participation. “The very purpose of my participation was to discipline myself and to create awareness for a cause which is very important. Some kind of physical activity is a must to remain healthy. Our generation is becoming victim of lifestyle diseases, which could easily be managed by including some physical activity in our daily routine,” he said.
He, however, admitted that the route was uneven and the organisers have decided either to work on the route or find some better route for the next season.
The marathon evoked good response as there were 125 registrations, 98 participations and there were 97 who could start and reach up to finish point. The enthusiastic participants were clad in sportswear and were carrying the message of healthy Oman and happy Oman. Ali al Tamimi, General Manager of TRI-ME, said, as responsible citizen we want to create awareness among the people that some physical activity is necessary to stay fit. “You start enjoying it when you start feeling good and healthy. I am happy every year I see new faces in the half-marathon and number of participants is also increasing. I advise everyone, particularly the youths, to adopt some physical activity. You can choose any sport as per choice. If nothing, just walk. Life can be more enjoyable if you stay healthy,” he said.
Kaushalendra Singh
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