Run Jordan organises its 1st Irbid Marathon

AMMAN — Irbid governorate on May 15 will witness its first marathon organised by Run Jordan.

Lina Kurd, Run Jordan deputy general manager, told The Jordan Times that the event will be the catapult for other events covering other governorates.

“We are looking at the Irbid Marathon as the starting point for similar events in other governorates. Amman has always been the main city for marathons and maybe it is time to shift to other governorates with the same enthusiasm we see here in Amman,” she said.

The event will be held under the patronage of HRH Prince Firas, chairman of the board of run Jordan — the sole entity dedicated to bringing together different marathon events and races under one umbrella.

“HRH Prince Firas has always called for more sports activities in governorates and this will be the beginning. Irbid Marathon is open to everyone and will consist of two races: 10km and 5km, and both events will start from Al Hassan Youth City,” Kurd said. 

According to Kurd, the 5km race will be introduced for the first time in a Run Jordan event.

“We have decided to have one event for the 5km marathon to encourage more people to join the event. We have seen that marathons are becoming more popular and hopefully this trend will continue when we move to other governorates in the Kingdom,” she said.

“We have received very positive response and cooperation from everyone, especially Hasan Assaf, governor of Irbid, and Hussein Bani Hani, mayor of Irbid, who attended our meeting and promised to allocate all resources to make sure that the event is a success,” she added.

Run Jordan is engaging schools in the revolution against unhealthy lifestyle through organising sport events such as marathons.

“We believe that the future belongs to the society who embraces sports and a healthy lifestyle and this is what we are trying to achieve — a society focused on healthy living,” Kurd said.

“And we also need to remember that it is not only health issues but also tourism as marathons helps in promoting touristic sites around the Kingdom,” she added.