Runners take off for the Zayed Charity Run in the Huairou district of Beijing on September 27, 2026. Around 15,000 runners participated in the event. Photo: Courtesy of the organizers

The Zayed Charity Run is seeking to make sports a vehicle for humanitarian action and people-to-people exchanges. The run's latest efforts saw some 15,000 runners gather in Beijing's Huairou district on Sunday for the event combining marathon running with charitable giving.

Adel Saeed al Yaqoubi, general coordinator of the Zayed Charity Run, said the initiative's distinctive feature lies in connecting athletic participation with a broader humanitarian purpose.

"Sports has a unique ability to bring people from different cultures together around a shared purpose. When combined with giving, it becomes a powerful way to create meaningful humanitarian impact," Al Yaqoubi told the Global Times.

The Beijing edition also reflects the organizers' approach of adapting the international initiative to local communities rather than simply replicating the same model in different countries.

"The core message and values of the Zayed Charity Run remain consistent wherever it is held, but each edition is adapted to the culture and needs of the host community," Al Yaqoubi said. "In China, we work closely with our local partners to ensure the race becomes part of the local sporting and cultural landscape while creating meaningful and sustainable charitable impact."

That local focus is reflected in the event's charitable arrangement, with 50 percent of its proceeds allocated to support the Huairou Hospital and the local community at large.

Counselor Khaled Alshehhi, chargé d'affaires at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in China, emphasized the role of sports in the broader relationship between the UAE and China.

"Sports has a unique ability to transcend language and cultural differences and create a space for direct interaction between people," Alshehhi told the Global Times, describing sports as an important dimension of growing exchanges between the two countries in areas including trade, investment, technology, tourism and culture.

He said combining sports with charitable and humanitarian work could turn participation into a practical contribution to society.

"With 50 percent of the event's proceeds going to support Huairou Hospital, sporting achievements are transformed into a direct impact on people's lives," Alshehhi said.

Asked whether the event could develop into a longer-term platform for China-UAE sports cooperation, Alshehhi said it was too early to predict what the next stage would bring.

But he noted that the first editions had demonstrated the potential of combining sports and charity to create more opportunities for exchanges between the two countries.

Sunday's event featured a 42-kilometer full marathon and a 21-kilometer half marathon, with around 15,000 participants from China and the rest of the world, including 100 runners from the UAE.

Mohammed Hilal Al Kaabi, chairman of the organizing committee of the Zayed Charity Run, said the event's significance extended beyond the sporting competition itself.

"Thousands of participants came together around a shared humanitarian purpose, turning their participation into a meaningful contribution to the community," Al Kaabi said in a statement released after the event.

The Zayed Charity Run initiative was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2001 in honor of the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and has since expanded to international editions in cities including New York and Cairo.