The city was on the run on Sunday. From serious professionals to fanciful life-size butterflies and cater pillars, citizens ran - some to better their personal records, some for sheer passion, a few for different causes, and many just for the fun of it. They were on the mark early, kicking off the ninth edition of the TCS World 10K run in Bengaluru.
Kanteerava Stadium, where the race began, was divided into six parts for different groups, where organizers placed them depending on the time taken to complete last year's run. Nearly 24,000 Bengalureans participated in the event.
Although no category of the run -World10K (men and women) for professionals, Open10K, Senior Citizen Run, Disability Run and the Majaa Run -was represented poorly , the crowd in a variety of colourful costumes in the last category was a big hit.
It was not just participants who woke up early; many came out to support family members and friends. Pradeep Kumar, 31, said, “I was up at 2am, I was so excited. Running early in the morning with such a big crowd was the best part. I will definitely take part next year as well.“
After her husband Mrinal Kanti Chandra completed the race, Praggya Basu said: “The crowd here is enthusiastic and energetic.Something I have never seen before!“ The friend of another runner said: “It feels great! I wish I had trained for the run.“
For VJ Kamath, 72, a retired banker at SBI, “It was a wonderful experience to take part with like-minded people. It was just like walking on the treadmill.“
If “fit and healthy“ were the common keywords for all runners, there were also doctors and volunteers from NGOs, differently-abled and senior citizens, all running for a variety of reasons.
Various causes were also being promoted from poverty alleviation, eradication of illiteracy , support for the differently-abled, to plain spreading of love.Org anizations from across India were represented by enthusiastic run ners. “We are supporting Reaching Hand, an NGO which helps poor children and provides education,“ said Manjunath, one of the participants. Another cause for people to come out on race day was to improve the education of girl children, with multiple organizations focusing on it. “I am part of Smile Foundation. Our cause is education of the girl child. Last week, we visited the NGO and met the kids there. Today , we are here as a part of our company AXA,“ said Syed K, even as tens of people around him raised slogans encouraging the differently-abled. Shekhar, an amputee running his 14th marathon, completed it in 75 minutes. “There are many people like me who choose to sit at home, that must change,“ he said, adding that his motto was `Mobility without disability'.
(With inputs from Mishti Sastri, Dhruv Balaraman, Aarohi Bhide, Shripoorna Purohit, Nandini Yuvraj)THREE FRIENDS UNITE
The TCS World 10K is serving as a rendezvous point for people with a passion for running. Raj Kalady, 53, Abraham Mathew, 55, and R Ramkumar, 54, are a trio who studied together at the School of Management Studies, Kochi. Today, 34 years later, the urge to run has brought them together at the World 10K at Bengaluru.“None of us was physically active from the age of 25 to 50. Only now have we started running. We were focused on our careers and families, and fitness wasn't of much importance,“ said Ramkumar. “I started running a few years ago to lose weight and improve my lifestyle. Today, all of us have moved past that and running is now a passion,“ said Raj, who posed the idea of using running as a means of reuniting with his friends. The trio clocked timings of 56 minutes, 65 minutes and 75 minutes on Sunday.They dream of using running to bring together more and more people, and use such events to have college reunions. “We hope that instead of three, next time we can have six or seven and subsequently, many more classmates running with us,“ Ram added.
HUBBY, COACH PROUD OF SHALINI
Shalini Saraswathi, a quadruple amputee, made everyone proud as she completed the run on Sunday. Her husband Prashanth Chowdatta said, “She has been training and practising hard for two years under coach Aiyappa BP. I'm so proud of her today. It was the first time she has taken part in a marathon and I'm very happy she was able to complete it. She was exhausted and tired by the end of the run, but now she is feeling better.“
Aiyappa said, “It is wonderful to watch her complete the marathon. Being a coach, it's an unbelievable achievement for me. Despite being a double amputee participant, she managed to complete the race in 2 hours 2 seconds.“
POWELL CHEERS ON
Mike Powell, 52, ambassador for the TCS World 10k, set the track on fire at Sri Kanteerava Stadium. He stood at the finish line at the World 10K event and cheered the athletes on as they finished the race. He posed for pictures with winners and attempted to pump the crowd up. The world record holder also raved to popular music played at the stadium, with the crowd behind him relishing every moment.
FOR POVERTY, EDUCATION
Shantha P Doddamani, 27, and Sisiliya Diggekar, 15, come from Haliyal district of Uttara Kannada.Together with an organization called CherYsh Trust, which aims to improve learning and livelihood for girls and women in Karnataka, they ran and completed the TCS Open 10K Run. “I have run a 6K marathon earlier and it feels good that I have outdone my previous record. When I first heard of the length of the marathon, I was surprised, because in my village, I walk this distance almost every day,“ Shantha said. In Haliyal, working in the fields is the main occupation, with little impetus to education or the possibility of a career. Shantha and Sisiliya hoped to make a difference and open the minds of their fellow villagers. “We need computers in our schools and it would be very helpful if we are taught English,“ said Sisiliya, while Shantha added that she ran to create awareness about development in the field of education. The duo didn't have proper tracks, and prepared on their village roads for the marathon. The TCS 10K marathon is a medium through which they want to make themselves heard and improve lives.
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