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“I’m Faryad Gujjar, chairperson of Lyallpur Athletics Club and I’ve with me blind athletes. They’re here in Rawalpindi to run in the world’s first-ever blind marathon,” Gujjar tells
The News on Sunday (TNS).
Blind people run in marathons across the world but January 10 marks the first time that a marathon is being held exclusively for the blind. The main 16-km marathon from T Chowk to Liaqat Bagh Sports Complex on Rawalpindi is grabbing attention of the public.
By Thursday,over 600 people had registered, more than 50 of whom were blind participants.
Faizan Khattak, a blind athlete has arrived from Nowshera. Taxila-based Muhammad Usman is a blind student and also a participant. Both are looking forward to the race. Tanveer Ahmed, a blind runner from Islamabad, says that it is a very positive decision to have a marathon at this stressful time.
Islamabad: For the first time in the history of Rawalpindi, a marathon was organized successfully on Sunday by the district government aiming to involve visually-impaired people.
Apart from the marathon for the visually-impaired and the children, another marathon (16km) for the general public was also the highlight of the day and participated by hundreds.
People of the Garrison city, particularly children and the visually-impaired overwhelmingly participated in these events.
In the 6km marathon from Morgah Morr to Liaquat Bagh Sports Complex more than 100 visually-impaired athletes and 254 children under 16 took part.
The Marathon was organized by District Sports Office Rawalpindi, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Capt (R) Anwarul Haq.