Thousands take part in Doha Bank’s Al Dana Green Run

Almost 6,000 runners took part in the 13th edition of Al Dana Green Run hosted by Doha Bank at the Aspire Zone on Saturday. Organised in partnership with Aspire Logistics, Ministry of Youth and Sports (Qatar Sports Federation for All), Ministry of the Interior, Olympic Committee (Qatar Athletics Federation) and Qatar Red Crescent, the annual event aims to promote environmental awareness, and social and sports activities across the country.The event, which derives its name from Doha Bank’s flagship Al Dana Saving’s scheme, has been known as the most popular CSR event in Qatar and this year’s edition was even more special as it coincided with the commencement of Qatar National Day celebrations for 2017 and it also witnessed one new Doha Bank customer, Abdul Baheer Nadathara Moldutty, being crowned as the new millionaire for Al Dana Saving’s Scheme 9th draw of the year. The other lucky winners for this month’s draw included 15 winners for QR10,000, one winner for QR100,000 and one more who walked away with the QR25,000 prize.Thousands of runners, families and members of Doha’s community gathered at Aspire Zone on Saturday morning to support the event and the cause, paying homage to Qatar, its government and people while enjoying a perfect fun-filled event. Chief guests included HE the Minister of Culture & Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali; Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan al-Thawadi; and guests of honour Dr Mohamed al-Kuwari, consultant & metabolic surgeon at HMC & President of Qatar cycling and triathlon federation; Dr Jassim Fakhro – consultant, bariatric metabolic & robotic surgeon, HMC; and Dr Abdullaziz al-Kuwari, consultant spine surgeon, orthopaedic surgery.Doha Bank Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman said, “We are thrilled to celebrate another wonderful and unique edition of Al Dana Green Run as part of Doha Bank’s ongoing campaign that aims to build environmental awareness among the local community. To witness the support of Doha’s residents, our loyal customers and Qatar as a nation, is simply heartening. The remarkable success of the run gives us extra motivation to take our mission of spreading the positive messages of environment conservation and green living to the next level while sharing the love and respect we have for Qatar and His Highness the Emir.” The Al Dana Green Run’s registered entrants competed in 10 individual categories covering various age groups and skill levels, such as professional runners, individual below 18, families and participants with special needs to name a few. The winners of each category walked away with unique prizes handled out during a joyous and colourful awards ceremony featuring live concerts and entertainment.Among the many who joined the event this year there were more than 100 Doha Bank’s staff and many families, runners and supporters including Nisma Kamran. “Al Dana Green Run is one of our favourite community events in Qatar. It represents the perfect fun-family day which promotes at the same time important concepts such as green and healthy living,” she said.As many as 109 special needs runners representing various local special needs associations took part in this year’s run.“We are here to support Al Dana Green Run once again as we thoroughly believe in the positive impact this unique event has on our members. We would like to thank Doha Bank for offering such a great opportunity to connect with the local community and letting our runners challenge themselves and excel in their running category. We couldn’t be any prouder,” said Ahmed Saker al-Hamzi, spokesperson for the Qatar Society For Rehabilitation of Special Needs. Those who attended to cheer on their relatives, enjoyed free entertainment, which included a dedicated fun zone area full of kids’ activities, such as face painting, inflatables bouncy castles, giant slides, football and basketball competitions, as well as colouring crafts workshops to name a few. In addition, the runners and the crowd were provided with complimentary refreshments courtesy of Ezdan, Krispy Kream and Chipstix Doha.Doha Bank Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman selects one of the winners of the Al Dana Saving’s Scheme 9th draw of the year.