Olympic Run Kicks Off this Sunday

The cancer Society will be holding its annual cancer walk on Saturday. The other activity to look out for this weekend is the Olympic Run. The Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association will be hosting the 2015 run this Sunday in Belize City. The event will start at six-thirty a.m. in front of James Brodie on Regent Street. Last year, two hundred plus turned out in support of the event. This year, the first one hundred participants will receive commemorative T-shirts, while the winners will receive ribbons, medals and a certificate of recognition for their participation. Secretary General of the Association, Yolanda Fonseca encourages everyone to participate.

Yolanda Fonseca

Yolanda Fonseca, General Secretary, Belize Olympic & Commonwealth Games Association

“The Olympic Day Run is to commemorate the actual movement of the Olympic Games. In 1894, Pierre De Coubertin actually revived the games. There were twelve countries that came together and they formed that they made the decision that they will move on with the proposal that Pierre had done. There were two countries from this side of the world who actually participated in that decision. But it is more than commemorating the day, it is the actual awakening of the people. Belize actually participated in our first Olympic Games in 1968 and since then, we have been attending consistently to the games and participating. We have even gotten to the point where we are now representing in our own rights; that means that the athletes have reached the qualifying standards to participate. Now the purpose of this Olympic Day Run is that they had enlarged the scope to include Move, Learn and Discover. We are concentrating on the portion of moving, which is being active. And in the participation we have people who are moving, activation, which helps with health, it helps with even the environment because the area where they run is sufficiently prepared for them to run freely. It covers different scope even education. And really and truly, sport is something that helps students in school, keeping the mind alert. For that reason, we extended the invitation to all the members of our community, all of Belize, to run and be a part of this day in commemoration yes, of the Olympic Day per say, but in truth that we celebrate us, we celebrate Belizeans, community development. We form together this unity, this bond in sports and it becomes a societal thing where all aspects of life is covered.”

Over fifty million persons worldwide participated in the International Olympic Day Run.