The IDBI Federal Life Insurance Mumbai Half Marathon kicked off at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar flagging off the race at 5.45 am. Enthusiastic runners participating in varied categories including 21k, 10k and 5k runs were pepped up to sprint on a rainy morning. The weather and the new route from BKC was a refreshing change this year.
Dnyaheshwar won the second edition of the marathon in the male category with a timing of 01:09:05 in Mumbai on Sunday. On second number was Jagmal Ramchander, who finished his race at 01:14:24 while Subhash Chandra stood third with a timing of 01:15:47. In the female category, Aarti finished with a timing of 01:22:53 followed by Anita Rani, who finished second with a timing of 01:32:06 and Neha Grover with a time of 01:43:18.
In the 10K category, Amit won the title finishing at 00:32:11, followed by Pramod Kumar and Suraj Yadav who finished their races at 00:32:14 and 00:32:46, respectively. In the female category 10k run, Poonam Singh won the title finishing at 00:39:15 followed by Gita Wathgure and Chandrawati Rajwade who finished their races at 00:40:00 and 00:41:32, respectively.
Dnyaheshwar stood first in the male category while Aarti stood first in the women’s category of the half marathon.
More than 6,000 passionate runners were at the start point of the Half Marathon. The 10K run commenced with over 6,000 participants and the 5K run saw more than 3,000 runners. A prize money of Rs 15 lakh was given to winners across categories.
“My experience last year was fantastic, and I had challenged the participants that we would surpass all expectations in 2017. Today, the event has truly exceeded all expectations in terms of participation. This shows the awareness created and that the initiative is reaching out to people and promoting healthy living,” Tendulkar, who is the face of the event said.
“This event promotes good health and in the coming years we will have healthier people with an improved lifestyle. The marathon encourages individuals to be fit and more active on day-to-day basis. I believe good fitness will always bring out more consistency and better results,” he added.
Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance Mumbai Half Marathon said, “The incredible atmosphere and passion seen among participants was fabulous. From ages 18 to 70 and above, the runners have shown their commitment to fitness and participated in runs across categories. This year the participation escalated, which motivates us, and we intend to raise the bar year after year,” Shahane said.
