Run Mumbai Run

More than 33,000 will be stretching themselves in the Mumbai Marathon today

MUMBAI: It’s the most gruelling of events. It can take its toll on the best. Runners vomit, suffer from cramps, get blisters. There are even chances of cardiac arrest for the weak hearted. It’s no child’s play, running the marathon.

But there can be no more satisfying an experience once one crosses the finish mark. It is the real test of character, like they say ‘mind over matter’, to keep going when the body is screaming to stop.

At the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) 2008 on Sunday, there will be thousands who will be putting their body to the test. There will be sweat, blood, tears of triumph but more so the spirit of the city will shine through.

According to the organisers, more than 33,000 runners will participate in the biggest event of its kind in the country on Sunday. Of this number, 21,105 will be running the Dream Run (6 km run), 1350 will run the marathon (42.195 km), 8500
the half marathon (21.097 km), 1820 the senior citizens’ run (4.3 km) and 225 persons will participate in the wheel chair event (2.5 km).

The Mumbai Marathon is in its fifth year. Its popularity has increased, going by the increase in the number of participants every year. International participation has also increased (from 300 to 500), it being the third leg of the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) challenge, run across four cities in the world (Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong).

The GROE is a relay of sorts, turning the individual sport in to a team effort. Athletes compete in a team of four, each one running one marathon in one of the four cities. The team with the fastest cumulative time over the course of the four marathons will
be declared the winner.

The final leg of GROE is in Hong Kong on February 17. At the SCMM, 37 teams from 33 countries will be taking part. The SCMM 2008 (42.195 km) starts and finishes in front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus.

In contention for the top prizes, both in men’s and women’s sections, are the athletes from the African continent. In men’s, last year’s winner Kenya’s John Kelai, who clocked in at 2:12:27 then, is the hot favourite.

He, however, will face a stiff competition from Brazilian and Chinese athletes. Kelai’s teammate Daniel Rono, who was the winner of the 2006 Mumbai Marathon, will be the pace-setter here on Sunday.

“I am hoping to make it two in a row here on Sunday. My preparations are good. Initially coming to Mumbai was a little difficult. The weather here is tough, because of the humidity it’s difficult to breathe,” said Kelai.

“But over the last few days, I have acclimatised and am feeling confident.”

In the women’s category, it’s the Africans again who are likely to rule. Ethiopia’s Mulu Seboka, a two-time winner here (2005, 2006), wants to become the first athlete to win the title here three times.

Though she speaks very little English, through her translator she said, “I am very happy to be back and hope to repeat my performances of the past.” She is likely to face a stiff competition from Chinese athlete Xin Zhang.

The Indian challenge will be lead by Lyngkhoi Binning and Ram Singh Yadav. Both armymen are hoping to make it to the Beijing Olympics by clocking at the qualifying time of 2:18:20 seconds.

Binning clocked the fastest national timing last year at 2:17: 53 in Guwahati on February 15. Ram Singh Yadav, the national winner here at the Mumbai Marathon last year, has a personal best of 2:18:20 seconds and last year had the best timing of 2: 18:22 seconds.

In the women’s section, Leelamma Alphonso, Dhiraj Indresh and Bhagwati are likely to finish ahead of their pack. Aside from the competition, the Mumbai Marathon is also the single largest fund generator for charity on a given day in the country.

The charity partners for the event, GiveIndia, have set a benchmark to raise at least Rs 10 crores from the event this year. Last year, about Rs 8 crore was raised.

So run Mumbai run.