Karnataka

Run maadi, maja maadi

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Bangalore is getting ready to run. The latest edition of World 10K run, which has become a part of the city’s sporting calendar, will be held this Sunday. A record 23,000 people are participating in the run, which is also called the ‘Namma City Namma Run’.

So overwhelming has been the response that registrations had to be closed 15 days before the event. With a 30 per cent increase in the number of participants compared with last year, the TCS World 10K Bangalore 2013 is the biggest marathon event in the city. The Times of India is the print partner for the event and Radio Mirchi the radio partner.

Star attraction
Popular Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar is the local face at the run. The athlete who is drawing the more serious runners is Olympic gold medallist Maria Mutola of Mozambique. “World champions arise from the unlikeliest of places and there is no reason why India cannot produce one. Young athletes need to believe in themselves, but most importantly they need to undergo the right coaching programe,” says Mutola.

7 kinds of run
The run will comprise seven different categories, including World 10K, The Nation’s Challenge, Open 10K, 10K Challenge, Maja Run, Senior Citizens’ Run and Champions with Disability.

Leaders of 11 companies who are supporting and raising funds for their chosen NGOs will pound the synthetic track at the Sri Kanteerava Stadium during the marathon. They will let their feet do the talking in the 400m ‘CEO Dash’ on the race day.

The Maja Run (fun run) is one in which thousands will turn up in innovative costumes, each displaying their mood or the cause they are supporting. There are prizes for individual and group efforts. Winners would be chosen by well-known designers.

Elite athletes
Some of the top male athletes who will run at the event are: Japhet Korir, Moses Masai, Daniel Salel, Mike Kigen and Silas Kipruto. The top female athletes participating in the run include Emily Chebet, Helah Kiprop, Yimer Wude Ayalew, Pascalia Kipkoech and Esther Chemtai.

The World 10K Elite Race for foreign and Indian men will be flagged off from

inside Kanteerava Stadium at 6.30 am. The 4.3-km Senior Citizens’ Run will start at 6.40 am, World 10K Elite Race for foreign and Indian women at 7.15 am; 10K Challenge, which includes the Nike College Face-off and the DHL Corporate Challenge, will be flagged off at 7.18 am followed by the Open 10K at 7.20 am. The 4.3-km event for Champions With Disability, will be flagged off at 8.10 am, with the 10,458 Maja Run set to take off at 8.40 am.

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