The 7EmiratesRun concluded its 575km charity run across the seven emirates on the UAE’s National Day yesterday, raising more than Dhs1 million for the Al Jalila Foundation.

The UAE’s only cross-country charity run, which commenced in Abu Dhabi on 21 November, drew support from fellow runners, parents, children and students, raising 10 times more money than last year.

The Dh1m raised will go to Al Jalila Foundation’s A’awen fund, which helps patients in the UAE with critical health conditions who cannot afford medical treatment.

Last year, Dubai-based runners traversed the seven emirates to raise funds so Mohammed Ayoub, a Sharjah toddler suffering from limb deformities, could get back on his feet. A total of Dhs100,000 was raised to fund his surgeries and post-operative care. Today, he walks with prosthetic support.

Ayoub and his parents joined the 7EmiratesRun team yesterday at the start line of the last leg from Sharjah to Dubai, in which more than 55 runners participated.

“We congratulate the 7EmiratesRun team on the great success this year’s run has achieved,” Dr Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, CEO of Al Jalila Foundation, said. 

“The level of support from communities and donors across the country was beyond expectation. The money raised for our A’awen fund will be fully dedicated to supporting children with walking disabilities, for a chance to live better and more productive lives. 

We thank all the sponsors and supporting organisations, donors, volunteers and the 7EmiratesRun team for a unique event celebrating health and philanthropy.”

Wendelin Lauxen, race director and managing director of DHCC-based German Limbtech, said: “We ran further than the distance between Paris and London, we traversed desert, mountains, passed camels and dhows and we finished!

“Luckily for us, we have chosen to live in a very beautiful country with a diverse landscape and this epic run is a tribute to the land we each call home.”