Seventh run of monsoon marathon this Sunday Urvashi Valecha

MUMBAI: On Sunday, 3,500 people will leave their cellphones at home and run in the rain as they participate in the seventh edition of the Monsoon Marathon Challenge.


The marathon will start and end at Jio Garden in Bandra-Kurla Complex. Runners will be participating in three categories—5 km, 10 km and the half marathon (21km).

While the half marathon will commence at 6am, the 5-km and 10-km runs will begin at 6.15am. The marathoners this year have some inspirational stories. Benn Jessudson, who has been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis—a type of

arthritis

that affects the spine—is running the 10km marathon.

Then there is

Munjal

Kapadia who recently had a transplant surgery, wherein he gave 70% of his liver to his father.

This year, the youngest male runner at the marathon is 10 years old; he is participating in the 5-km category. The oldest participant is 76 years old and will run the 10-km marathon.

On the other hand, the youngest female participant is 11 years old while the oldest is 70 years old. Out of the 3,500 participants, 500 will run the half marathon, 2,500 will be running in the 10km category and 500 will participate in the 5km run.

Former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan and his actor-wife Sagarika Ghagte will be present to cheer the runners. Also, 11 runners who have completed the

Comrades Marathon

in

South Africa

will attend the event to spread a message of fitness. The event is an initiative by Run India Run is association with the Times of India. The winners will be awarded a total of Rs 2 lakh as prize money across different categories