Accra Hosts Millennium Marathon 2018

The Accra Millennium Marathon 2018 is expected to host over 10,000 athletes from across the country as well as sporting icons including Stephen Appiah and John Paintsil, among others on September 22.

Finalists of this year's marathon will be rewarded with return tickets to participate in the next Marathon in Dubai.

Mr Ashin Morton, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Millennium Marathon, made these known when he led organizers of the event to pay a courtesy call on Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Accra on Friday, August 17, 2018 to inform him about the preparations and programme of activities lined up ahead of the event.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Sowah underscored the importance of the Marathon in terms of its health benefits and urged city dwellers to come out in their numbers and participate in the event.

He referred to records from the Public Health Directorate of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) which indicated that 70 per cent of deaths recorded in Accra were attributable to cardiac arrest.

Keeping the body fit through events such as the Millennium Marathon could, therefore, he said, reduce the risk of heart related diseases.

Mr Sowah promised his support for the event and pledged his full participation, just as he did last year.

He urged the organisers to use the event to project the city of Accra, adding that just as the Boston and London Marathons attracted participants from all over the world, the upcoming Millennium Marathon could also be used as a great platform to showcase what Accra had to offer to the rest of the world.

"Sports such as the Millennium Marathon is a strong marketing tool and a very big competition we can leverage on to promote the capital city Accra," he said.

Dr Vanessa Atikpui, a member of the team, reiterated the point that living a sedentary lifestyle was a major cause of cardiac arrest in Ghana and added his voice to the call by Mr Sowah on Ghanaians to participate in the marathon as a means of keeping fit and staying healthy.

Source: AMA (PR Unit)

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