With more than 200 contestants taking part, Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) said it successfully concluded the eighth edition of the Aspire Torch Staircase Run on October 25. The event involved participants of all ages and backgrounds in the race categories for children, adults, masters and companies.
The participants hailed from more than 40 nationalities, AZF said in a statement yesterday.
Britain’s Andrew Jones took first place in the masters — men’s category for the second consecutive year by reaching the 51st floor of The Torch Doha.
Mohamed al-Obaidli from Qatar came second, while Croatian Ivo Kovacic finished third.
Abdullah Aman al-Khater, director of Venues and Events at Aspire Logistics, awarded the winners.
In the men’s adult category, Tunisian Nasreddine Mansour came in the first place, while Cornelia Jan Wouters from the Netherlands finished runner-up and French Matthieu Corpet came third.
The winners were honoured by Sherif Sabri, managing director of The Torch Doha.
In the women’s adult category, Briton Stephanie Innes-Smith snatched first place, with Hanna Clark from Denmark the runner-up and Tunisian Amira Azizi finishing third.
Cheryl Aquionaval from the Philippines won in the masters — women’s category, followed by Swiss Manuela Pauley in second and Maria Cecilia from the Philippines in third.
The winners were honoured by Khairiya al-Absi, manager of Partnership and Sponsorship at Aspire Logistics.
In the children’s section, Aisha al-Maadeed from Qatar defended her last year’s title by retaining first place in the category of girls, while Americans Hanan Eriksson and Jenna Khatib coming second and third, respectively.
Nidal Yahya from India took the first place in the same category for boys, followed by Britain’s Liam Wilson in second and Hassan Shipchandler from the US in third.
Amal al-Sheemy, manager of Media and Communication at AZF, honoured the winners in both the boys and girls categories.
In the corporate category, the Civil Defence team won the race, followed by the Civil Aviation team in second and RasGas in third.
The winning teams in the corporate category were crowned by al-Khater and Ahmed Mahmoud al-Abdullah, Civil Aviation team officer.
The participation of Aspire Academy students this year added a special flavour to the race, with 11 students taking part in the race until the 51st floor.
Abdulsalam Arif Alawi won the first place, while his colleagues Muwafaq Faqeer Algadi and Abdalla Nabil Adam came second and third, respectively.
Nasser Abdullah al-Hajri, director of Communication and Public Relations at AZF, crowned the winners.
As part of the CSR activities of AZF, the race this year coincided with the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
AZF donated 30% of the registration fees for participation in the race to Qatar Cancer Society to support its activities.
Al-Khater, also the chairman of the Organising Committee of the race, said: “I congratulate all the winners and we are happy with the success of the eighth edition of the race, which witnessed a great demand for registration. This edition is one of the most outstanding ones of the race with the participation of two categories for the first time this year: 11 students from our academy as well as cancer survivors, who participated in the event to mark the breast cancer awareness month observed internationally in October.”
Meanwhile, the public availed of a free check-up at a van positioned near The Torch Doha as well as a booth to get answers and obtain more information.
Mohamed Shaaban from Palestine, a 56-year-old colon cancer survivor, and Sami al-Asali participated in the masters category of the race to present a role model for others.
They achieved good positions, with Shaaban ranked 23rd out of 31 participants in this category, while al-Asali came 26th.
Shaaban said, “I participate today in support of cancer patients. Sport was part of my treatment for fighting this disease.”
On the sidelines of the race, AZF reserved a dedicated Fun Zone for families and offered a range of food and beverage outlets as well as a special area for the giant screen to watch the race.
The fun zone included activities such as taekwondo exercises and Thai boxing.
Snapshots from the eighth Aspire Torch Staircase Run.
