Yusuf Alli, General Manager of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, says the race’s aim is to encourage the running culture among citizens due to its immense health benefits.
Alli told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that running has immense health benefits to people of all ages.
“People talk about and emphasise the importance of primary healthcare but regular running, exercise and good hygiene help prevent all forms of diseases including terminal illnesses.
“Prevention, we all agree, is better than cure. So, our aim is to encourage a culture that will prevent sicknesses and diseases,” he said.
Alli said part of activities accompanying the 2018 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is an Expo which has the theme “Wellness, Well-being and Healthy Living’’.
He said the Expo would also be a celebration of the telecom industry and its many contributions to the Nigerian society.
NAN reports that the marathon expo is slated for the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 2018.
“Our aim is to get about 50 percent of Lagosians and Nigerians to embrace the culture of running and exercise before our fifth anniversary.
“That is our target. It will be our legacy, that we encourage a culture that keeps millions of Nigerians alive and healthy,’’ Alli said.
He said that all participants in the two marathon events, both the full marathon and the 10-kilometre family run, will pick up their race kits at the Expo.
The race kits are a running bib, timing tag, t-shirt, bag and other materials.
The Race General Manager said there would also be talks by experts for all visitors on how to exercise and run in ways not injurious to health.
“In a bid to encourage the culture of running, school children and other categories of youths will be specially invited to the Expo.
“It is sad that teenagers are today diagnosed with diabetes and other forms of preventable diseases.
“The introduction of Okada as a form of transportation has adversely affected our health as a people.
“Now, some of our young boys and girls, even school children, cannot walk for a kilometre. We need to re-educate our youths, and this is what we intend to achieve with the 10-day Marathon Expo,” he said.(NAN)
