I proudly took part in the Beirut Women Race last Sunday and ran the 5K in support of women and their rights in Lebanon. Almost 10,000 attended the event running for fun, for women and for official causes making it a successful and joyful one.

Here are some of the inspiring stories that happened on that day and are worth mentioning:

The winner of the 10k race was Aregu Abate with a new course record at 41:06. For those of you who are not familiar with Aregu, she’s not a professional athlete coming from abroad to participate, but instead a housekeeper who works in Beirut for the awesome blogger Sietske. Aregu ran for “all the nannies, housemaids and cleaning ladies, showing that change is possible”. I’d like to meet her and Sietske one day because their story is quite an amazing and inspiring one! Read it all [Here].

One of the participants Rita, who’s on wheels, was assisted by her blind friend Liliane and they both completed the 10k.

Another participant finished the whole 10k barefoot. I honestly don’t know how she managed that as it was very hot.

One of the most inspiring stories from this race was Zena Mhanna’s, as she was running over all “that is dark and negative and painful in her life”. I’ve read her story like 3 times and cannot but admire this girl for her strength and courage. I hope she won’t have to face any difficulties or tragedies in her life anymore and wish her all the best!

Check out other awesome stories on Beirut Marathon’s website [Here].

On a last note, MARCH performed a great stunt to raise awareness on violence against women that I posted about a couple of days ago.

PS: Pictures that aren’t mine were taken from Beirut Marathon’s Facebook Page.