Suva Marathon Club gears up for major race to combat NCD crisis

The largest road race in the Pacific will be held at Albert Park in Suva this Saturday, in a bid to tackle non-communicable diseases and promote marathon running for Pacific Islanders.

The Suva Marathon Club will host close to 1,000 participants consisting of various race categories which includes a full marathon of 42.2 kilometres, a half marathon of 21.2 kilometres and a Team Marathon.

Organiser Tamara Smith told fijivillage News that NCDs are a major public health concern, and are responsible for approximately 80 percent of all deaths in Fiji, with a large percentage of those being premature, occurring before the age of 70.

Smith says this is something that the Club will like to change, hence the inception of the Suva Marathon in 2014.

She says the Club’s core values focus on aiding the local community as a whole, while striving for good health for all with passion, inclusivity, honesty, openness and integrity.

She says the Club is also a Trust formed under the Charitable Trusts Act, and was formally formed in 2019.