The Great South Sudan Run is due to be held in Wau, the capital of Western Bahr el-Ghazal State on January 2022, the executive committee has said.

This comes after the executive body met with Governor Sarah Cleto Rial on Thursday at the state coordination office in Juba to review the event’s preparations.

Joseph Willaim Lado, the acting spokeswoman for the Great South Sudan Run said the participants would be from Greater Bahr el-Ghazal region, Abyei, and Ruweng Administrative Areas.

“We are here as the Great South Sudan Run executive body announcing to the public that this event will be in Wau on January 29^, 2022, but the awaiting biggest one which is usually annually done will be in Juba in the first week of April,” he said.

Lado said the purpose of organizing the event was to promote unity and peace among South Sudanese communities by bringing people from different states together.

“With the great South Sudan Run, we would see different champions coming from different areas and if there are those who are coming from other states they are also welcome because we want to make the event colourful and bring together people to leave and be in unity,” he stressed.

Governor Sarah Cleto stated the event will serve as a unifying force for the people of South Sudan, with the theme “run for peace and development in South Sudan.”

 “So we are inviting all South Sudanese to come and join us and we take sports seriously, we take sports for fun, sports for bringing families together, sports for bringing the potentials out of us and sports for uniting us as people of South Sudan”.

The Great South Sudan Run was founded in 2017 by Haile Gebrselassie, the founder of the Great Ethiopian Run Association, and Ayesheshim Teka, an Ethiopian entrepreneur, to raise funds to help villages devastated by conflict in South Sudan.

Dr James Wani Igga, the Vice President for Economic Cluster, launched the first Great South Sudan Run in 2018 under the theme “Great South Sudan Run for Reconciliation.”

Several South Sudanese and notable athletes from neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda came together to show their sympathy with the people of South Sudan at the event aimed at encouraging peace among South Sudanese.

According to Dr James Wani Igga who launched Great South Sudan run for reconciliation, the event was excepted to foster forgiveness among South Sudanese and bring stability to the country.

 “This great occasion can bring stability and reconciliation among our people,” he said.

The tenth anniversary of the country’s independence was commemorated in July this year with a marathon organized by Great South Sudan Run under the theme let us run for a better future for South Sudan.

Thousands of people participated in the 10km run held at Dr John Garang de Mabior’s Mausoleum that was attended by several government leaders including the president, national ministers, and other dignitaries.