Aspire Zone’s Torch Staircase Run again an astounding hit
Doha, Qatar: With more than 300 contestants taking part, Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) successfully concluded the seventh edition of the Aspire Torch Staircase Run (ATSR 2018) on Saturday. The event involved participants of all ages and backgrounds as well as representatives from various entities and organisations in Qatar.
British contestant Andrew Jones won the male category reaching the top in seven minutes and two seconds and Katerina Matousova from the Czech Republic claimed the female category with a time of 9 minutes 11 seconds.
A corporate relay race was added to proceedings for the first time this year and proved hugely popular. This comprised teams from Aspire Zone Foundation, the General Directorate of Civil Defence from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Qatar Gas. The Civil Defence team secured first place reaching the 51st floor in a winning time of 8 minutes and 26 seconds.
In the 8 to 11 category participants raced to the 15th floor. Liam Wilson came first among boys with a time of 2 minutes 49 seconds, while Aisha Al Maaded won the girls’ section in 3 minutes 40 seconds.
The 12 to 14 boys category was won by Ambroise Lion with a time of 5 minutes 30 seconds, and Rasha Kalandan won the corresponding honour in the girls' section in 6 minutes and 14 seconds.
The 15 to 17 boys category was taken by Oliver Guest with a time of 7 minutes and 37 seconds, and Tessa Haynes won the girls’ event in 10 minutes and 50 seconds.
The top three contestants in each category were awarded great prizes and the event was supported by the event’s partners and sponsors Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co, Nissan and De Boer.
Abdullah Al Khater, Events Manager at Aspire Zone Foundation, said it was a proud moment for them. “We’re proud that Aspire Torch Staircase has proven to be a great success yet again, with all our participants demonstrating real spirit and determination. The competition is designed to appeal to people from across the community and encourage individuals to enjoy this unique event and adopt active lifestyles. Such an event is the perfect embodiment of AZF’s mission – to enhance sports performance.”
Harib Al-Suwaidi, the Head of EMS operations at Qatargas, was thoroughly impressed: “This is an incredible initiative by Aspire and the ideal event for encouraging individuals to adopt healthy, active lifestyles. In our organisation, we have more than 200 fire-fighters, but we came to participate at Aspire Torch Staircase having carefully selected five to represent us. We’re very happy with our performance. I extend my utmost gratitude and appreciation on behalf of my team to the organizers of the event for all that they have done and look forward to participating in many more.”
Kuwaiti coach Essa Embelish said: “This is not the first time that I’ve participated in events taking place in Qatar. I previously took part in the ‘Esrar’ race last February which was equally fantastic. I would fully recommend the Aspire Torch Staircase Run to sports enthusiasts as well as those who are simply looking to try a new activity. It’s a huge amount of fun as is clearly evident from the reactions of those people who took part.”
Jones, the winner in the male category, expressed delight at the result. “I’ve trained very hard for this race and I’m keen to encourage as many other people to take part as well,” said Jones. I’m really happy that in this year’s race I managed to improve my performance and reduce the time I took to reach the top.”
The first-place winner in the female category Matousova was happy with her show. “This is the second time that I’ve participated in the Aspire Zone Torch Staircase Run,” said Matousova. “I managed to practice just three times prior to the event, so I’m especially pleased with my performance.”
