Celebs pack a punch at starting line, race, cheer and drive home a message

Cheering, applauding and running along with thousands of citizens, celebrities from the world of showbiz, sports, corporate and lifestyle packed a punch to Mumbai Marathon on Sunday morning.
Among the first to arrive at the venue was actor John Abraham who is also the face of the marathon. Tina Ambani, chairperson of Kokilaben Hospital, and ad guru Piyush Pandey along with actors Sonali Bendre and Taapsee Pannu flagged off the Senior Citizens’ Run.Actors Tara Sharma, Rahul Bose and Juhi Chawla were also present at the starting line.
Commentator Harsha Bhogle and chefs Sanjeev Kapoor and Ranveer Brar ran to spread awareness on autism. “At the #SCMM2017 with the brave and wonderful people from #ForumForAutism. Very important to spread awareness in the community,” Bhogle tweeted.
Rashesh Shah, chairman and CEO of Edelweiss Group, who ran the half marathon in 2.04 hours, tweeted later: “Another great marathon and with very enthusiastic crowd support. Clearly the Mumbai marathon is an annual institution now.” Another corporate leader who participated in the marathon was Gagan Banga of Indiabulls Group. He completed the full marathon in 3.56 hours.
The fact that avid marathoner Milind Soman was running next to him pushed Abhijit Bali, a banker from Delhi, a little more to the finish line of the full marathon. “It was humid and a bad weather for running, but Soman inspired us... The electric mood and cheering by Mumbaikars kept us going,” he said promising to return next year.
Runners also found encouragement from those who were not at the venue. “5.19am. Champions heading towards their starting point. What an amazing & exciting atmosphere on d streets of Mumbai.:) #MumbaiMarathon,” tweeted actor Anupam Kher as he returned from a shoot in the early hours of Sunday.