Thousands take part in Unified Marathon

The Lakson Investment's seventh Unified Marathon was held on Sunday under the auspices of Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) in association with McDonald's.

The marathon, which began after the opening ceremony at 7am near the beach in DHA Phase VIII, aimed to express solidarity with special people.

The marathon was attended by thousands of men, women, children, the elderly, artists, athletes and personalities from other walks of life, and representatives of various educational, social, welfare, business and organisation, city dignitaries, and foreign diplomats.

The marathon included 10km, 5km, 1km unified race and 1km walk. Deaf and speech-impaired people and those with various physical and mental problems were a particular part of the marathon. The wheelchair-bound persons also took part in the event.

At the closing ceremony, shields were distributed among the top 20 men and women of each event. The top three finishers were also awarded cash prizes for the first time.

The special guests were the President of Faisal Islamic Bank Yousuf Hussain and renowned artist Sarwat Gilani. SOP chairperson Ronaq Lakhani thanked the participants.