MEDMILES

PART I:



PART II:

Beirut International Marathon '12

Today is one of the first days of the storm, or the downpour, or whatever term you want to use to describe the rain and the official change in the weather from summer to winter...

Today is also the day of the Beirut International Marathon. I registered for it last month, with a couple of friends from work and I'd been looking forward to it ever since… But after hearing the weather forecast, all of my colleagues backed out of it and so I didn't get to put my sportive kit on :-|

Nevertheless, I want to take this opportunity to support the spirit:

This year, I was supposed to be "running for Autism" ...

"Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills."

So despite the rain that washed a good portion of the competitors out of the race, I want to put an umbrella over the cause, and sincerely apologize for not participating… Hope to run it in 2013!

Pictures from Tripoli’s Car Free Day!

So, I know this is a few days overdue, but as I’d posted last week, last Sunday was “Tripoli and Mina’s Car-Free Day”, and what a day it was! I spent most of it at our BankMed stand, handing out gapples (organic apples), which were, all bias aside, the best tasting apples I've ever had!

I also got the chance to see Mr. President Michel Suleiman up close in the VIP section, and I got these two shots of him:

All in all it was a wonderful day, and it was beyond wonderful seeing Tripoli actually car-free! And instead of it being an annual event, I really hope it’s done a lot more often than that… :-)

حملة لتنظيف نهر أبو علي

Here are some pics from today's حملة لتنظيف نهر أبو علي event:

BankMed Project "Cleaning the Lebanese Rivers"

BankMed, as part of their continuous effort towards the environment, recently announced the launch of their latest environmental project: “Cleaning the Lebanese Rivers” in cooperation with the Operation Big Blue Association (OBBA), which will take place over the duration of the year.

BankMed will start cleaning the first river on Sunday, October 9, 2011…

The launch will take place at the Abu Ali River in Tripoli, starting from 8:30AM till 12:00PM. All the needed materials for the cleaning process (gloves, t-shirts, caps, etc…) will be provided.

All are welcome to join! Spread the word! :-)

BankMed's Baby Trees

This week for World Environment Day (which took place on June 5th) and as a part of BankMed’s Happy Planet Lebanon initiative, and in partnership with Plant For The Planet, we’ve been giving out these cute baby trees:

They’re actual living plants, about 5cm high and 2cm wide, contained in recyclable plastic capsules that you can carry around. They only need to be placed in water for about two minutes twice a month (they suck in water from their corked bottom). And they remain in this environment roughly for 6 months to 2 years until they become too big to be contained there. Of course then, they can be moved out of their capsule for a larger house…

I thought the idea was quite neat, and so I logged on to the official baby tree website, www.babytree.eu, where I was glad to find a lot more information on the baby trees. I especially liked how they were described: created for us to become more aware of nature’s beauty and fragility, hoping it would lead us to having more respect towards other living things, and to allow everyone to carry a little part of nature with them…

On the site, there’s a wide collection of plants to choose from, but from what I could identify, I think mine is MIMI, the cactus:

I’ll keep sharing MIMI’s growth progress on this blog, and if you’d like a baby tree as well, head over to your nearest BankMed branch and ask for your free baby tree too! :-)

Tripoli International Half Marathon 2011 (Registration):

(From The Official Website: http://tripolihalfmarathon.org/)

Tripoli is the Heart of North Lebanon, the Capital of the North and the second [most] popular city in Lebanon after Beirut. Tripoli is a leading city in terms of social, cultural & sports activities. Tripoli will be hosting for the second time an international running event under the name of: Tripoli International Half Marathon, under the sponsorship of BankMed...

Tripoli International Half Marathon will take place on May 8th, 2011 and is a combination of three different races. 21k, 5k and 2k Children’s Race. The above race will be attracting lots of organizations, institutions, corporations, NGO’s and media firms for being the biggest sports event in the north...

Course Details:

The Tripoli International Half Marathon course winds through diverse neighborhoods and city highlights throughout Tripoli. The majority of the race is run on paved asphalt and concrete streets... The course is a certified IMC (International Measurement Certificate) and your time may be used as a qualifier for Olympic Marathons... The Tripoli Half Marathon course is officially open for six hour pace. The finish line, aid stations and fluid stations will remain open for a six-hour pace and close on schedule...

Event Details:

21,097 Km Wheel Chair - Start Time: 7:15 a.m

21,097 Km (17 years and older) - Start Time: 7:30 a.m

5 km Elite (12 years and older) - Start Time: 9:30 a.m

5 Km Fun (all ages) - Start Time:10:30 a.m

2 Km (12 years and below) - Start Time:11:30 a.m

Course Support:

Km Markers & Clocks: will be highly visible at each km to assist runners in gauging their progress. Kilometer markers are located every 5K, from 5K – 21K will also be placed on the race course.

Medical Aid Stations: There will be five aid stations available to runners throughout the race course. Additionally, there will be an aid tent at the start and finish lines. Red Cross will provide all medical assistance during this event. For your safety, it is important to print any specific medical needs on the reverse side of your race bib. Medical stations will be equipped to assist runners with any basic medical needs and will also have a supply of band-aids. For medical emergencies, an ambulance will be called to transport the runner to a local hospital. Cell operators will be available approximately every one km if you need to alert someone that you need immediate medical assistance while on the course.

Fluid Stations: There will be five fluid stations throughout the race course supplying PowerAde and non-carbonated, water to runners. Additionally, there will be a fluid station at the start and finish lines.

Restroom Facilities: Five men/woman identified portable restrooms equipped with hand cleaner at various locations throughout the course, including the start and finish lines and relay exchange points.

Course Entertainment: The local “kachaff” will cheer runners along the course. There will be course entertainment throughout the race course. Watch for live bands, pep bands, exciting themed water stations.

Registration & Packet Pick-Up:

Register at Spinneys, Liban Post, or from any BankMed Branch in Tripoli, Maarad, or Mina! (5,000 LBP/person)

Runners must pick up their race packet from Maarad Rachid Karame from May 4th, to May 7th, 2011 between 12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. This is the only place to get your race bib, t-shirt and goodie bag. Runners must pick up their own packet. There will be NO pick up the day of the race.

BankMed's Advertisements:

A Time To Remember... 2011

Today is my Two-Year Work Anniversary!! I can’t believe it’s already been two full years. I still remember the little me, 21 years old at the time, when I first joined BankMed. What makes me smile every time I look back is the fact that I never wanted to go into Banking (after all, I was a Marketing major!), yet I found a new passion in Finance. I can hear Daniel and Nadine laughing at me from Kuwait and Jordan respectively: Nour, Finance? LOL! But it’s true; the Financial and Managerial sectors have opened up new worlds to me, worlds I thankfully found myself in. From last March’s One-Year Anniversary to todays second, I’m taking a better look at myself and I like the “Work Nour”!

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For the past two years, March 2nd has been like a double-edged sword for me: Happy for the day as my BankMed Anniversary, yet Sad for the day of my paternal grandmother’s passing away three years ago, on March 2nd, 2008…

I was still in the final year of university; still the little me that I was just talking about. I can’t help but think how different, how better my relationship with her might have been had she known me today. I know she’d have appreciated me being more social, more considerate, more understanding of things like I am today…

Family is one of the greatest blessings in life. Never take them for granted… :)

Mai Farouk in Borj Al Sibaa

Last night, it was BankMed’s sponsor night for Mai Faouk (from Egypt)’s performance in Borj Al Sibaa in Al Mina. I had been helping out in giving out tickets to the event (and I even invited several friends) and thankfully, there was a great turnout and it was a huge success!

Mai Farouk is brilliant, her voice is brilliant. She sang old songs for Umm Kulthum.

Side Note: Personally, I only knew Umm Kulthum by name, and I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know a single one of her songs. Then again, Arabic Tarab isn't exactly my style…

But the audience loved her. When I turned around, I noticed a couple of elderly men and women sitting in the seats behind us with their hands on their cheeks, swaying to and fro, completely immersed in the music. People were clapping, dancing, and singing along to all her songs and in everyone I looked at, I could see the look of contentment on each of their faces…

After the beautiful performance was over at around 12:30 a.m., we were invited for s7our near the old train tracks. There was a rich display of food and drinks, and it was all scrumptious. I even got to meet Mai in person after that and we took pictures with her. She is such a sweet, down to earth person…

For my first big public event, I’m super proud! :-)