Nisha leaves a mark as Raul adds Spanish touch

Before daybreak, marathon runners were flagged off by National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand. Around 2,000 runners took to the streets as early as 4:45 am for the full marathon (42.195 kms) and they were followed by the half-marathon (21 kms) runners with around 8,000 runners getting onto the roads at 5:45 am.

While the elite field failed to produce any sparks, the open category runners ensured that nothing dampened their spirits as they stepped out and pushed themselves in the gruelling contest.

Among the thousands who attempted the half-marathon was former swimming champion Nisha Millet, who ran her first 21-km run here. “I am very happy. I was aiming at around two hours and fifteen minutes or something. But then two hours and five minutes happened, that’s a good thing,” she said.

“I have been running from June but only for shorter distances. Only in the last one month have I been doing proper long runs. Reeth (Abraham) was scaring me a bit. But I really enjoyed it,” she said.

The event also seemed to have gone international with a Spanish TV show on marathon -- Marathon Man -- choosing to shoot one of its episodes here. Raul Gomez, the host of the show, had a whale of a time while its Director of Photography, Josue Andavert, explained the reason for picking the Bengaluru marathon as their debut race in India.

“We always wanted to come. It’s always been in the pipeline. And this marathon was the perfect reason. We look at it culturally and socially. From Mexico City to Bengaluru, through Europe and Africa, we have left nothing. We have a research team that looks at every single marathon across the globe and based on the above mentioned criteria, we select our races,” said Andavert.

Meanwhile in the Hope Run, visually impaired runners from the Samarthnam Trust for Disabled took to the road spreading the message of fitness, health and empowerment. Twentyfive runners along with their guides took part in the five-km run, with spectators and even policemen encouraging them from the sidelines.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to show the world that we are no less. With proper guidance and proper training we can also reach great heights,” said Bhagya, one of the runners.