Chief minister Narendra Modi announced on Sunday that a social message would be associated with the annual Sabarmati Marathon from next year.
Speaking before flagging off the third edition of the event at Vallabh Sadan on Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Modi congratulated the citizens for coming out in large numbers. More than 16,000 runners participated in different categories - marathon, half-marathon, Dream Run and the race for the differently-abled.
Modi reached the venue late, resulting in a delay in flagging off the marathon and the subsequent events. It was announced that there would be a gap of ten minutes between the start of each race, but the half-marathon was flagged off within two minutes of the marathon.
“We have completed two successful events and this is the third consecutive year. We will run for some cause from next time as social messages will be associated with the event to create awareness among people,” said Modi.
He also lauded the participation of women. “Around 40% participants are women in different types of race which is praiseworthy. It took nearly 100 years for women to participate in marathon after starting of the event in modern age in 1896, but we have got good participation within three years,” the CM said.
