At dawn on Sunday, more than a thousand Abu Dhabi residents put on pink T-shirts and gathered at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to run in support of breast cancer patients.

Athletes, community members and young children joined the Seha Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign , their smiles shining through beads of sweat as they crossed the finish line. Participants had the option to complete one loop around the mosque for a total of 3.2km, or two loops covering 6.4km.

Among them was Srijith Appunna, who ran the 3.2km distance alongside his seven-year-old daughter Nysa. A member of the Kerala Riders running team, the 42-year-old is a regular in the local running scene. While Nysa has been running since she was four, this was her first pink run.“She was especially excited about running amidst all the pink,” said Appunna, adding that he had no trouble waking her up at 4.30am to join the event.

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“In the beginning, when she started running, waking up early was an issue-but not anymore.” A regular finisher at community races, Nysa said she mostly looks forward to being on the podium after clocking her best time.

Appunna's teammate Sibi Kalluerzhathil also ran the 3.2km distance.“Since I started running around four years ago, I've been taking part in nearly all local events,” said the 46-year-old, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 18 years.“It made a lot of sense to run today because it's for a noble cause. We feel proud to have taken part-it was a good event,” he added.“The weather isn't cool enough yet to run your best, but we managed.”

For footballer and runner Riyaz Choloth, it was his first pink run.“I ran into many people I know-it had a nice community feel,” said the 37-year-old, who moved to Abu Dhabi 11 years ago. He runs three times a week, trains for football twice, and competes in community tournaments regularly.“I took up running a long time ago to help me with football.”

For two volunteers, the event carried a deeply personal meaning. One lost his grandmother to breast cancer , while the other's mother has been battling cancer for four years.

“My grandmother passed away from breast cancer, so this was a good way to give back to survivors and show that many people support their cause,” said William Hutchinson, a 49-year-old librarian and runner. He said the positive atmosphere and the mosque's stunning backdrop made the event especially meaningful. Inspired, he is considering signing up for next weekend's ADCB Zayed Sports City Pink Run, where he plans to run the 5km distance.

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Grutters and her mother Jodie - who has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer for the past four years, greeted finishers at the line with cheers and smiles. Although Olivia is a runner herself, she said she has been volunteering at nearly every local race over the past year.“I volunteered for the first time during last year's ADCB Pink Run and loved it so much that I've been volunteering ever since,” she said.“For this event, I helped with everything - registration, handing out T-shirts and medals.” Jodie said that every race features runners who overcome immense challenges to finish.“It's amazing to see-everybody has a story.”

Karyn Shephard, head of Client Services at Gulf Multisport, which organised the event sponsored by Seha, said pink runs always hold a special significance for the community, patients and survivors. A total of 1,126 runners took part on Sunday.

“For the ADCB run next Saturday, we are launching the race village at the stadium from Friday afternoon,” Shephard said.“This is the first time we're hosting two days of activations.” The event will feature bouncy castles, Pilates and yoga sessions, face painting, hair braiding and nail painting-all free of charge.

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