The 24th annual National Bank of Kuwait(NBK) walkathon kicked off Saturday 8th December morning from the Green Island with a new record of the 11 kilometers’ race. Thousands of cheering supporters, spectators and media people lined the racing route on the Arabian Gulf street to the finish line at the Shuwaikh Beach Park where the hugely successful conclusion of this event and the award ceremony were marked with a variety of entertaining activities.

More than 9000 participants were walking for strength and health awareness. The Walkathon culminated with a prize giving ceremony where NBK awarded the top 100 participants, 10 winners from each of the 10 categories for both male and female and gave away many valuable prizes alongside the two brand new Nissan cars from Al Babtain Group.

Governor of Central Bank of Kuwait Mohammad Al-Hashel took a part in the walk along with NBK Group Chief Executive Officer, Isam Jasem Al Sager . Group CEO, Al-Babtain Group, Saleh A. Al-Babtain and NBK Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar attended the awarding ceremony along with NBK- Kuwait Chief Executive Officer, Salah Yousef Al Fulaij, NBK- Kuwait Deputy CEO and NBK General Manager, Treasury Group, Sulaiman Barrak al Marzouq, NBK General Manager Consumer Banking Group Mohammad Al Othman, NBK General Manager Group Human Resources Imad Al Ablani and NBK General Manager Operations Group Mohammed Al Kharafi.

Speaking in front of thousands of contestants, spectators and guests who gathered at the end of the walkathon to celebrate the awarding of the first-place winners and enjoy the carnival, NBK Public Relations Assistant General Manager, Manal Al Mattar said that the huge participation from the various age categories at the 24th version of NBK's Annual Walkathon had by far exceeded all expectations, providing yet another testament of the great community confidence in this mega event which has become one of the much awaited NBK public activities.

Al Mattar commended the great collaboration exhibited by different ministries and governmental institutions, headed by both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior, in addition to the Kuwaiti Association of Athletics Federations, Al Babtain Group and Kuwait Municipality, Circuit+, Local Flavor, Provision and many others for showing great cooperation to ensure the event’s success.

Al Mattar added “NBK strongly supports sporting events and encourages sporting activities as means to promote a healthier and more active lifestyle for members of the community. NBK’s 2018 Walkathon aimed to encourage each individual to believe in their ability towards making a change.”
NBK’s Social Media team broadcasted the Walkathon live on NBK’s Official Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram Pages, posting the updates throughout the day.

Race Preparations
Multiple communication points were set up along the race route between the Green Island and Shuwaikh Beach Park. By the early morning hours, organizers ensured the full readiness of the site to receive the participants. The event started after NBK volunteers finalized all required organizational and preventive measures to ensure the safety of the contestants.
Children’s activities at Shuwaikh Beach Park

This year’s event included organizing events dedicated to children aged 5 to 11 years old, set up a Shuwaikh Beach Park. The children participated in several fun-filled contests and games, organized by circuit+ and supervised by NBK’s team.

Special Needs and Elderlies
NBK dedicates an annual special competition within the race for people with special needs, as part of the bank’s beliefs of the utmost importance of involving all members of society and their ability to prove their active and vital role in various areas and fields, particularly sports. Also, NBK opened a racing category for participants aged 60 years old and above to encourage a healthier lifestyle among all members of the society.

Two NBK Walkathon Grand Prize Winners Of Nissan Cars
Yasmine Al Banna and Roman Ladaran were the lucky winners of two brand new Nissan Maxima and XTrail cars. The prizes were presented by Al Babtain Group during NBK’s 24th Walkathon grand prize draw that supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The winners were among thousands of participants who were entitled to the draw automatically after their online registration.

Additionally, NBK presented a large number of prizes and surprises, in response to the public great interaction with the bank’s social mission, which receives overwhelming response each year from all age groups, particularly young people.

NBK Announced Al Jawhara Monthly and weekly Draw Winners of KD 125,000 and KD 5, 000

Al Jawhara KD 125,000 November’s draw and Al Jawhara weekly KD 5,000 draw took place during the Walkathon 2018 event and Issa AbdulReda Suliman was announced as the winner of the monthly prize while Thamer Ali Arab was the winner of the weekly draw. The fun-filled event was supervised by representatives from Ministry of Commerce and Industry and was attended by local media.