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The eighth edition of the Mumbai Marathon kicked off here on Sunday morning, from the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, amidst a carnival-like atmosphere.
More than 38,000 participants took part across five categories — full marathon, half-marathon, wheel run, senior citizens run and the dream run.
Promoting awareness
The event saw Corporate India coming out in full force to express support to various causes.
With issues ranging from the right to education for every child to promoting awareness about various social, health and environmental causes, participants used banners, brochures and slogans to highlight their causes.
One participant decided to draw attention to soaring onion prices by wearing a garland made of onions.
The event was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank with Tata Consultancy Services as the associate sponsor. More than 100 corporate houses across sectors participated in the marathon.
Among the participants in the marathon were corporate honchos Mr Anil Ambani, Mr Anand Mahindra, TCS chief Mr N. Chandrasekaran, and LIC Chairman, Mr T.S Vijayan.
Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC, said that this is the housing finance company's seventh year of participation in the Mumbai Marathon.
“Our team of 155 runners has pledged support for Bhavishya Yaan, a project looking into overall development of children in our municipal schools. We are also running to raise awareness and preserve our forests and the highly endangered species – the tiger,” he said.
Mr S.A.R Zaidi, Deputy General Manager at Punjab National Bank, said the bank is trying to promote the need for children's education.
“There is a lot of talk about the need to educate every child but not much is being done about it. We have tied up with Muktangan and hold camps for children and distribute stationery,” he said.
Ethiopians dominate
Ethiopia's Girima Assefa won the 42-kilometre full run in the men's category, and bagged the prize money of $36,000.
His compatriot, Koren Yal, won the first prize in the women's category.
Bollywood celebrities Vidya Balan, John Abraham, Rahul Bose, Shilpa Shetty, Shreyas Talpade, Gul Panag and Neha Dhupia either participated in the event or cheered from the sidelines.
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