The second season of the ‘Beautiful Bangladesh Run 2026’ was held on Saturday at the capital’s scenic Hathirjheel area with festive enthusiasm, drawing nearly one thousand runners from across the country.

The event, organised by the Aviation and Tourism Journalists Forum of Bangladesh (ATJFB),  began early in the morning and concluded successfully amid spirited participation from people of different professions, particularly those associated with the aviation and tourism sectors.

The run started at 6:00 am from Police Plaza Point and featured two categories— a 7.5-kilometre competitive race and a 2-kilometre fun run.

Civil Aviation and Tourism State Minister M. Rashiduzzaman Millat attended the event as the chief guest and distributed prizes among the winners.

The minister said initiatives like this by ATJFB play an important role in raising health awareness while also contributing to the promotion of Bangladesh’s tourism sector. “Such programmes are truly commendable. I am personally inspired by this initiative and look forward to participating in the future,” he added.

He further said the government is working to attract foreign investment for developing international-standard tourism infrastructure in Bangladesh. “We are in discussions with world-renowned companies such as Emaar Properties of the UAE, which built the Burj Khalifa. Through public-private partnerships we plan to involve them in developing tourism infrastructure in Bangladesh,” he said.

Title sponsor Rhythm Group’s Deputy Managing Director Abir Hossain expressed satisfaction at the enthusiastic participation. “I am truly impressed to see people of all ages taking part in such a health-conscious initiative. This kind of event sends a positive message to society. Next year, we aim to take this event to the international level,” he said.

ATJFB President Tanzim Anwar said the initiative aims to promote Bangladesh’s tourism sector through large-scale public engagement.

“Such events are organised globally for different purposes. Our goal is to promote tourism in Bangladesh, and this has now become one of our flagship events. We plan to expand it beyond Dhaka, including organising it on Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive next year,” he said.

In the 2-kilometre run, Mohibur Rahman finished first among men, followed by Md Animul Hasan in second place and F A Selim in third. Among women, Noor-e-Saba secured first place, Subhana Mahdia Siddique second, and Parvin Mitu third.

In the 7.5-kilometre race, Md Elahi Sardar won the men’s category, with Ashraful Alam and Palash Sheikh finishing second and third respectively. In the women’s category, Hamida Akter Jeba came first, followed by Sadia Shaolin Sigma and Teresa Kochi.

At the end of the event, winners were awarded podium honours along with air tickets to various destinations and raffle draw prizes.