The indoor running festival welcomed participants of every age and ability, marking a new milestone in Doha Festival City’s community wellness programme and its partnership with the Qatar Sports for All Federation.
Doha Festival City, Qatar’s leading retail, leisure, and lifestyle destination, in collaboration with the Qatar Sports for All Federation (QSFA), operating under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, welcomed nearly 800 runners representing more than 40 nationalities to RunFest 2026 on Friday, September 25. Participants from Qatar accounted for approximately 25% of the total roster, while the indoor running festival drew around 2,000 spectators and brought together runners aged four to 60, each setting out to reach a personal health goal.
Participants spanned five race categories; namely, a 10 km race, a 5 km race, a 1 km Fun Run, a 1 km Kids Run, and a 500-metre Mini Kids Run. In the men’s 10 km race, Andrew Jones took first place with a time of 34:45, followed by Samuel Njagi in second at 36:54 and Suken Thapa in third at 37:57. Meanwhile, the women’s 10 km race saw Soledad Dominguez claim first place with a time of 45:25, followed by Nuria Sainz in second at 48:36 and Emelda Buo in third at 59:27.
RunFest 2026 was supported by a lineup of partners including Monoprix, Sports Corner, Shoebox, and Foot Locker. Their involvement helped enhance the overall participant experience, supporting the festival’s wider focus on movement, wellbeing, and community engagement while adding further energy and visibility across the different race categories and activities.
Commenting on the festival, Tugrul Comert, Asset Management Director at Doha Festival City, said:
“Seeing this level of turnout for RunFest 2026 demonstrates the strong appetite within our community for experiences that support healthier, more active lifestyles. In partnership with the Qatar Sports for All Federation, we are proud to create an inclusive platform that brings people together, encourages personal achievement, and makes wellbeing part of everyday community life.”
Tugrul Comert, Asset Management Director at Doha Festival City
Highlighting the event’s strong turnout, Abdullah Al Dosari, Executive Director of the Qatar Sports for All Federation, said:
“RunFest 2026 brought together children and young people, adults and seniors, families, beginners, experienced runners, and people with special needs, which confirms that sport is accessible to all and that community events can bring every member of the family together. The festival marks an important milestone in our collaboration with Doha Festival City and reflects our shared vision of offering sporting and community activities that welcome everyone, giving people a rich range of opportunities to be active in a motivating and enjoyable atmosphere.”
Abdullah Al Dosari, Executive Director of the Qatar Sports for All Federation
Al Dosari noted that QSFA sees the community’s engagement with the event as motivation to keep building on the federation’s programmes, with the aim of encouraging people to move regularly and make walking and physical activity part of their daily routines. He also highlighted the 5K Steps Challenge as one of the standout initiatives reinforcing this goal, encouraging mall visitors to move more during their visit and track their steps through the QSFA app.
The festival comes as part of Doha Festival City’s broader health and wellbeing strategy, which includes its Memorandum of Understanding with QSFA, signed in June 2026 under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sports and Youth. This partnership features prominently in the mall’s wellness programme, including the weekly Friday Community Run, which recorded more than 6,000 cumulative participations between May and August 2026.
