Chennai Marathon 2016 participants at Napiers Bridge
Chennai Marathon 2016 participants at Napiers Bridge

Fitness & charity go hand-in-hand at this marathon

The event was well-supported with aid-stations at intervals of 2.5 km providing water, fruits and medical aid to contestants in need of it.

CHENNAI: A sea of fluorescent green was the order of the day as the fifth edition of the popular Wipro Chennai Marathon was conducted recently with hundreds of runners and marathon enthusiasts across the city turning up to participate. Clad in their race gear, participants across age groups competed in full, half and 10 km marathon.

Initially scheduled for December 11 and postponed following the political developments in the city, the citizens more than made up for it with their enthusiasm. The entire stretch of Napier Bridge had a celebratory look to it early in the morning with energising music and eager by-standers cheering the participants on. While the full and half marathons (42.2 km and 21.2 km respectively) were flagged off from Madhya Kailash at 4 am, the 10 km marathon was flagged off at 7 am from Napier Bridge. The end point of all the marathons was the CPT grounds in Taramani.

The event was well-supported with aid-stations at intervals of 2.5 km providing water, fruits and medical aid to contestants in need of it. “I’m here to cheer for my son who is participating in his first marathon. He really liked the training required to get himself fit for the event, and is eager to finish the entire trail,” said Subhadra, a by-stander.

Long-distance national record holder and Arjuna awardee Kavita Tungar was also part of the marathon, eventually winning the 10 km race. As always the marathon had two very prominent charity partners — United Way Chennai, which aims to develop, support and strengthen community service projects through CSR initiatives, and Isha Vidhya, a non-profit educational initiative working for social and economic upliftment of rural children. Close to 20 residents of the Isha Foundation and several volunteers also participated in the marathon in a show of support for the cause. Apart from these there were several other issues like cancer awareness and preventions, sanitation and palliative care that were part of the event’s charity causes.
Kenyan Isaac Kemboi emerged as the winner in the full marathon men’s category, while Simta Sharma from Mumbai clinched the top spot in the ladies category. The winners in the half (21.2 km) and 10 km marathon in men’s and ladies category were Karthika S and Naresh Kumar, and Geetha and Kavita Tungar respectively.

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