Men and women across the country walk or run a minimum of 20 kilometers in the first of a series of eight Step Together challenges
Thousands of people took up the Saudi Sports for All Federation’s latest Step Together challenge this Ramadan, running or walking a minimum of 20 kilometers in the first 20 days of the Holy Month.
More than 2,600 people registered for the challenge, including 37 Community Sports Groups, who ran and walked wherever they are located in KSA between April 13 and May 2 – the Gregorian calendar equivalent of Ramadan 1-20.
Women made up 34.6% of the participants, while 11.7% of total participants were younger than 19 years old, and 13.9% were older than 50 years old. Some 57.6% of people were Saudis within the Kingdom and 36.8% were expats within the Kingdom, while 5.4% were foreigners outside Saudi Arabia, and 0.2% Saudis outside the country.
An online event platform allowed participants to upload and review all their activities, view results, and interact with organizers and other participants.
This was the fifth Step Together challenge, with the previous four attracting more than 8,750 participants, covering hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The Ramadan iteration was also the first of a series of eight that will take place throughout this year. Participants who complete a challenge will be awarded a medal, with the eight medals combining to form a circle with the map of Saudi Arabia at its heart.
The event ran concurrently with the nationwide Start Now health awareness campaign, which aims to inspire and encourage people across the Kingdom to engage in physical activity.
Supported by the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, the SFA is mandated by Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program to increase the ratio of people exercising at least once a week from 13% to 40%. Events like Step Together help the SFA get ever closer to achieving this goal.
