Healthcare | Thursday 15 January, 2015 1:39 am |

HRH Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Province, launched “Run 4 Riyadh 2015” at a press conference held at the Emarah palace. During the inauguration, HRH asserted the importance of such new events for Riyadh, which would realize the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and HRH Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, aiming at for a better health and welfare for the Saudi society. He added that the run should increase health awareness among society, and “is a great motivation towards a healthier, more active life and an important step to encourage people from all ages to develop a more rewarding lifestyle.”

“Allah has bestowed upon Riyadh a great variety of places and advantages that we can all use for our good. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that ‘Run 4 Riyadh’ could be our first step together towards a healthy society, free of diseases and ailments.”

The inaugural edition of “Run 4 Riyadh” kicks off on Saturday, February 28th from King Abdullah Park, with the five-kilometer route ending at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium, with spectator and family zones spotted around the route to cheer and encourage participants at the first-of-its-kind race.

The event at involving and educating the public to lead healthier lifestyles. And to ensure the widest possible participation, three categories have been introduced to suit all ages and physical abilities: walking, jogging and running.

The Director General of Health Affairs for Riyadh, Dr. Adnan bin Sulaiman Al Abdulkarim, thanked Riyadh Province and HRH Prince Turki, for the initiative that will definitely spread public awareness. “Walking, exercising and healthy eating would reduce the spread of diseases while improving spirits and reducing mental exhaustion,” he commented. “The changing lifestyle led to epidemic spread of several diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, blood hypertension and high cholesterol levels. Diabetes, for example, spread at a rate of 2% thirty years ago, but the current percentage exceeds 13% of the population. Obesity, on the other hand, reflects the society’s lifestyle as it increased to 27% among males and 33% among females.”

“The wise vision adopted by HRH Governor of Riyadh attempts to spread a new culture of health and among society, by following a healthy lifestyle that would improve people’s wellbeing by making good use of what Riyadh has to offer; such as parks and sport clubs,” said Saud Al Shathri, spokesman for “Run 4 Riyadh”. “This is just the beginning, and we hope to make the run an annual event to realize the King’s vision for better public health.”

Organizers of “Run 4 Riyadh” will provide participants, and the wider community, with all of the tools and advice needed to understand and improve diet, enhance their nutrition and adopt the habit of exercise on a long-term basis. Nutritional advice, exercise tips and 5km training plans will all be available from the Run 4 Riyadh website, alongside information on the range of exercise facilities available across the city.

“Run 4 Riyadh” participants can register at a cost of SAR 50 at www.run4riyadh.sa from January 14th, 2015 and an online app is available to download for Apple Store and Android. To find out more about “Run 4 Riyadh”, visit www.run4riyadh.sa, Facebook.com/run4riyadh or find us @Run4Riyadh on Twitter, or you can use the new hash tag #Forward_Together.

Proceeds of “Run 4 Riyadh” race will be allocated for supporting various charities.