May El-Khalil is staying in Sarajevo with the delegation of the Beirut Marathon in the recent few days. They are staying as guests of the Association Marathon Sarajevo, and they mutually signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which are clearly defined the roles and following steps in their future cooperation.
“The Beirut Marathon signed a Memorandum of Understanding with organizers of marathons from all around the world in the year of 2016. The main goal of this memorandum is promotion of values of the marathon. On this occasion, the organizers will share their experiences, sponsors and host runners of other marathons. My visit was organized by Erol Mujanovic, my good friend and the director of Sarajevo Marathon. Our main goal is to connect our two communities, and I believe that the connections made between people who run will last for a lifetime,” said El-Khalil.
The Beirut Marathon is one of the most influential social movements in the Middle East now, and it counts around 40,000 runners from 104 countries of the world, said El-Khalil, and added that she is very proud and excited with the fact the marathon that she started back in 2003, after almost fatal car accident, became part of a large collective event.
“In a country where sport is not so popular, it is really unbelievable to see how people are getting involved in this project on their own initiative and becoming part of what the Beirut Marathon is all about. We started as a simple race, and today we represent a platform for unity, fight for health, a competitive spirit and international values,” noted El-Khalil.
The philosophy of success of this inspirational woman is to have a goal.
“My favourite saying is: ‘If you are aiming for the Moon and miss, you will still end up among stars’. It is impossible to measure your success if you do not have a goal and something to pursue. If you have a goal, then you have something that motivates you, something that will make you continue even if you fail, something that will make you celebrate every small victory. That is how you will follow your progress and you will manage to succeed in the end,” stated May El-Khalil, who continues to live the mission of Beirut Marathon and unite people through running.
May also received several major world prizes and awards for the promotion of sports in society and the strengthening of women’s entrepreneurship, including the prestigious Swiss AIPS Power of Sport Award and the Laureus Sport for Good Award back in the year of 2011.
(Source: E. Ljubcic/Klix.ba)
