In support of World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day, Egypt's leading running community, Cairo Runners, are running in Zamalek this Friday, 29 May, to highlight the importance of raising awareness regarding the disease and to celebrate the brave ones who take the illness in their stride.
In addition to Cairo Runner's regular 5km run, there will be a special short 1km wheelchair race and trophies for the first three males and three females to complete the route.
The runs start 7:30am.
Cairo Runners is the leading running community in Egypt, and was one of the earliest pioneers in encouraging Egyptians to adopt a healthier, more energetic lifestyle, taking to the streets for early runs each Friday, and choosing different locations through the capital each time.
At the beginning of the initiative, the participants were around 70, but Cairo Runners takes pride in their expansion, with the number of participants increasing with the success of each event.
Average numbers of runners per run is around 3,000.
In Egypt, the most recent statistics by the ministry of health shows that MS cases comprise 1.4 percent of all neurological diseases, and that the number of sufferers around the country is approximately 40,000.
The major problem with MS is that it usually strikes at a very early age, affecting those between the ages of 20 and 40 in 70 percent of the cases.
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