Nasser Abdul Razak Al-Nafeesi, director general of public affairs at the oil company, said his organization was honored to sponsor the charity run, which has been attracting people of different age groups including those with special needs.

The participants have to run a distance of five kilometers.

"We make use of this annual event to send an objective message to the public," Al-Nafeesi said.

Saudi Aramco has been supporting this charity event for the last 17 years, he pointed out. "It is a social event that promotes health and volunteerism in society.”

He said such programs would lead to the creation of a healthy and cooperative society that would work hard to boost the country's development in various sectors.

In the previous years about 10,000 Saudis and expatriates took part in the program. There were Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, Americans and Britons. "It was an extraordinary feeling," said a former Saudi Aramco executive who took part in the run.