A run for good health
Reported June 01, 2009
BANGALORE: Thousands of health-conscious Bangaloreans hit the roads on Sunday morning with just one mantra: Run Maadi Run. With people of all ages and sizes lining up, the atmosphere was electrifying and colourful. Deepika Padukone provided the star flavour while the police platoons pitched in by throwing a security blanket around.
Ethiopians Deriba Merga and Aselefach Mergia made light of the humid conditions to make it a creditable double for the African nation, which enjoys a rich tradition in middle and long-distance running, be it on track or on road.
The timing could, however, not match that of last years. If it had rained last night, the timing could have been much faster. The cloud cover made it humid pretty early in the morning, admitted Ian Ladbrooke, manager of the foreign athletes and some of the international participants.
The winding roads were good and the traffic well managed. Overall, it was a well-planned event, was how some of the Majja runners put it. There was less chaos, and with the finishing point for most races, except the Elite events, being outside near the volleyball courts at the Kanteerava Stadium, there was less confusion.
Indian runners, who finished at the podium, sounded confident. We are happy that we could push back the challenge from many foreign runners. Our aim was and is to finish amongst the top ten if not amongst the top six. And though it did not happen that way, our timings are good and will give us a lot of confidence for forthcoming events, said Preethi L. Rao, Karnatakas lone entry in the womens race. Preethi, who finished first amongst Indians in the last edition, had to be content with the third place this year. Kavita Raut and Preeja Sreedharan are both experienced and much fancied athletes. All three of us train at the SAI South Centre here, and are part of the Indian camp preparing for the Commonwealth Games and other international meets, Preethi said. Good money too came the winners way in the form of prizes. While the Elite winners earned US $21,000, US$ 12,000 and US$8,000 for the top three finishers in both sections, the Indians were not too far behind.
Sandeep Kumar, Kashinath Aswale (both from the Railways and running for Gujarat) and Santosh Kumar (Karnataka) among men, and Kavita Raut (Maharashtra), Preeja Sreedharan (Kerala) and Karnatakas Preethi L. Rao won Rs. 50,000, Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 30,000 respectively, for their efforts that took just about 35 minutes. Besides Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat finished in that order in the Nations Challenge and pocketed Rs. 4.5 lakh, Rs. 3.25 lakh and Rs. 2.10 lakh respectively as prize money. The event has helped create awareness on the importance of running in maintaining good health.
Source : The Hindu