Members of the UAE’s running community can show their support for inclusion by joining Special Olympics athletes on March 16 when they take to the track for the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 half marathon competition.
‘Run Unified’ will see people from across the UAE given the opportunity to run alongside Special Olympics athletes.
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, ‘Run Unified’ will take place on Al Hudayriat Island and features 11km, 6km and 2.5km distances as well as the World Games Half Marathon route. For the Special Olympics athletes participating, the Half Marathon event is their official World Games competition.
‘Run Unified’ is part of a series of community initiatives, including the popular ‘Walk Unified’ and ‘Cycle Unified’ events, which have been developed by the Local Organising Committee, LOC, of Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi.
The initiative aims to bring together people with and without intellectual disabilities and encourage them to participate in sports activities alongside each other in celebration of inclusion.
The half-marathon starts at 06:30, while the 11km event kicks off at 07:00. The 6km and 2.5km categories will begin at 07:30, respectively. Those who are interested in taking part can register by visiting the Abu Dhabi Sports Council website’s Run Unified page.
Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 will take place from 14th-21st March and will see more than 7,500 athletes from over 190 nations compete. The athletes will compete in 24 Olympic-style sports in nine venues across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The World Games will be the largest sports and humanitarian event of the year.
