RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is to run a reading marathon in support of the Saudi Green Initiative. As part of the eighth session of the Iqra enrichment program, that aims to promote reading throughout the Kingdom, the event will take place in three Saudi cities between Jan. 12 and 14. Marathons will be held at the Ithra Library in Dhahran, the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh, and the iRead Library in Tabuk’s First Secondary School. Ithra will plant a tree for every 100 pages read, with a target of 2,000, and participants will receive a copper medal for reading 100 pages, bronze for 200, silver for 500, and gold for 1,000. Tariq Al-Khawaji, cultural adviser at Ithra and general supervisor of Iqra, said the marathon initiative was part of a development of the reading enrichment program which the center planned to expand throughout the Gulf region and other parts of the Arab world. During the first edition of the marathon last year, more than 162,000 pages were read by those taking part, resulting in the planting of 1,620 trees.