Mumbai Marathon
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is fast approaching and Bandra and Mumbais Suburbs will have a huge contingent at the Mumbai Marathon. So its time to start preparing for the Mumbai Marathon. The Mumbai Marathon Race Day is on Sunday, January 18th, 2009. Online registration for the event started in July sometime and is closed now. Not sure when it closed but iv still to meet someone who knew when the registration for the Mumbai Marathon started and closed. The Mumbai Marathon site states that the closure of the Mumbai Marathon Registration was 30th August, 2008 or “as soon as running places are full, whichever is earlier”. So if you are really keen on a registered entry you need to wake up almost 4-5 months before the event!! I am sure not too many ‘normal’ people wake up 4 months in advance for the run.
The Mumbai Marathon has 5 ‘races’.
The Marathon which is open for 18 year old plus and is a distance of 42.195 kms.
Half Marathon is also open for 18 year old plus and is a 21.097 kms run.
The Dream Run is probably where most of the participation happens is 6 kms and open for 12 year old plus.
Sr Citizens Run is a 4.3 kms long run for 60 year old plus only!!
The last ‘run’ is the WheelChair Event for 12 years old plus and is 2.5 kms long.
The name “marathon” comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek human messenger. The legend is that he was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming ‘We have won.’(in Greek and not in English!!). When the modern Olympics became a reality, the organizers were looking for a grand event, recalling the ancient glory of Greece. The idea of organizing a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the Marathon to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. The Olympic men’s record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya.
Now why would people participate in the Mumbai Marathon?
Each one has his own motivation. There are people who run the marathon to prove to themselves that they can do it, other run the marathon to be a part of a big event and not be left out, some run the marathon because ‘all the friends are running’, some do it for charity, some dont know why they run :-). Some even come to see all the stars and celebrities who make it a point to be at the Mumbai Marathon.
Charity is one of the biggest reasons to run the Mumbai Marathon. As per the Mumbai Marathon site “The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has set a standard and style for other events in the country to emulate. In the year 2008 edition of the Event, over Rs.6.75 crores were raised in clearly tracked funds for 104 NGOs. Budgeting for the fact that a lot of small organizations would have raised funds through the event directly for their own, along with contributions from Event sponsors and partners, the final total is now over Rs. 8 crores! “
So Bandraites and Mumbaikars its now time to start preparing for the Marathon in the next 8-9 weeks before the Mumbai Marathon.
