ABU DHABI // Hundreds of breast-cancer awareness supporters clad in pink were up at the crack of dawn yesterday to take part in five and 10-kilometre runs.
More than 700 people, many of whom had lost a loved one to breast cancer or survived it, turned out to raise money and awareness.
Organised by Abu Dhabi Striders, the runs took place at Zayed Sports City and attracted all ages, from young children to students, running enthusiasts and families.
Wayne Young works at New York University Abu Dhabi and helped to organise the race.
He lost his mother and sister to breast cancer and has been supporting breast cancer research since the 1990s.
"The number of people who have turned up today says a lot about the impact of publicising such events," he said.
Graham Ramsey, who works at the UAE Naval College, was at the run to cheer his 12-year-old daughter, Clementine, who participated in the 5K run.
"She lost her mother to cancer and the cause motivates her," said Mr Ramsey, who is from the UK.
Romanian Corina Stan was running in the 10K after her breast cancer diagnosis last October. "Running kept me going," said Ms Stan, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 10 years. "Although I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time, I ran the 10K race in March this year and I am very proud of that achievement. I was not a very athletic person but took to running three years ago."
Her chemotherapy sessions ended five months ago. "I think even now people only come to know about breast cancer when it affects someone close to them," she said.
"I detected a lump. My colleague at the school where I teach was affected by cancer and so I took the lump seriously. I read about it. Events help, but even now people understand the impact of the disease only when they see someone close to them suffer.
"Early detection is very important and people really need to understand that. I have no family history of breast cancer but the disease affected me.
"It can happen to anyone and we all need to be careful."
Race director Steve Watson said: "We have been organising this event for the past four years and though initially we had only 147 runners, today we have 725. Part of the proceeds is given to charities that work on breast cancer research.
"We have seen awareness about breast cancer grow in this part of the world and many Emiratis now participate in these runs."
Ibrahim Slimani, a Moroccan who lives in Al Ain, won the 10K race with a time of 32 minutes and 36 seconds.
Jean Claude Haramboure and Ruan Ferreira came in second and third, respectively, in the same race.
Jill Mair was first among the women in the 10K race, while David Sappa came first in the 5K.
Mr Slimani is a coach in Al Ain and has participated in several races.
Abu Dhabi resident Rashid Mohammed has participated in several breast cancer events. He said: "It is our duty to support the people who are suffering from breast cancer and also to encourage research."
arizvi2@thenational.ae
Hundreds of pink-clad runners turn out to raise awareness of breast cancer
More than 700 people, many of whom have survived breast cancer or have lost someone to it, took part in 5K and 10K runs at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Friday morning.
Most popular today
