The second edition of the Moonlight Pink Ribbons of Hope Half Marathon and Charity Run lived up to its star billing after it was oversubscribed.
Moonlight Funeral Assurance chief executive officer Dr Chomi Makina said the event was to bring cheer and relief to cancer survivors as well as hope to those who lost their peers to the disease.
The event saw professional athletes and social runners taking part in different categories that included 5km fun run, 10km, and the main 21km race.
The event, held over the weekend at Falcon Golf Club, saw Mirriam Sibanda and Owen Slowly emerging top of the crop in the men’s and women’s main 21km events, respectively.
Apart from walking for a good cause, there was Zumba, aerobics, and entertainment from the Chillspot family.
“We are very excited for this second edition of the Moonlight Cancer Trust half-marathon.
“We have had a lot of responses and the event was actually oversubscribed, and we also have got a lot of corporates that have come through to support this event and make it a success,” said Makina.
“It’s very important that we have this campaign every year because cancer is a scourge in Zimbabwe.
“We have also seen that a lot of our clients are dying as a result of cancer-related ailments, and we want to play our part in mitigating deaths by cancer by promoting wellness among our clients, and sport is one of the best ways to do that.”
Moonlight Funeral Assurance public relations manager Noway Museba said the Moonlight Cancer Trust was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.
“We are really excited to have managed to attract at least 1000 athletes and 62 corporates, which turned up to support this initiative.
“We are grateful that the corporate world wants to give back to society since this is an annual event, we want to make it a permanent feature on the country’s sporting calendar.
“We are also happy that we managed to attract athletes from various areas within Zimbabwe, such as Midlands, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland, and even Manicaland,” said Museba.
