30 May 2019

Botswana Defence Force Athletics Club (BDF AC) will on Sunday host IAAF Run 24:1; a sporting event that will be celebrated worldwide.

The club’s mouthpiece, Alfred Phinias said the event, which would be free, would be held at the Three Dikgosi monument at the Central Business District (CBD).

He said as BDF Athletics Club,they heeded Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) plea to host such a big event to ensure that Batswana also celebrated with the rest of the world

He said the purpose of the race was to raise awareness and encourage people to keep fit through running.

“As BDF AC, we are ready and well prepared for the event. We are thankful to BAA for the trust and support they have been giving us through the years,” he said.

According to an information from the IAAF website the IAAF Run 24:1 was launched last year and is a series of 24 one-mile runs that will be contested around the world to celebrate Global Running Day.

When it was launched IAAF president, Sebastian Coe said ‘Running is accessible to everyone, it is fun, and it is competitive.

It can be social, it can be solitary. It is testing, it is personal but most of all it builds strength, stamina, fitness, and health. It is the mother of all sports’.

It further that the IAAF as the main facilitator of the project, will also assist with around-the-clock coverage of the event on a dedicated website to be launched in the lead-in to the event as well as across its various social media platforms. Furthermore, it explains that each race will be headed by a designated ‘City Captain’, a former or current athlete, who will lead local efforts to spread awareness of the initiative and to involve their respective running communities.