Mr Roshan Lal, 62, a London-based general surgeon and a senior citizen, flew 4,469 miles just to participate in Sunday’s Mumbai Marathon. Since the time his son introduced him to marathon a few years back, he got hooked on it. “I am a senior citizen and I want to tell everyone that it’s never too late to start exercising and focusing on your health,” he said. Compared with the youngsters who hit the gym for a toned body, Mr Lal says that running is the best form of exercise which doesn’t cost anything. “As a professional, I will advise everyone to buy a good comfortable pair of shoes and start running which will yield great health benefits,” he added.
January 15, saw the 18th edition of the Mumbai Marathon, with an overwhelming crowd from all walks of life. The event, held after two years since the pandemic started, witnessed men, women, children, senior citizens, and differently-abled people taking part in the run to show their athleticism and support the cause they believe in. This year there was an overwhelming response – around 57,000 had participated – due to which the organizers had to close the entries as it exceeded the registration limit.
Various categories in Mumbai Marathon
Full marathon – 42.195 km
The 10K run – 10 km
Elite race 42.195 km
Half marathon and Police cup 21.097 km
Senior citizen – 4.2 km,
Champions with disability – 1.3 km
Dream Run – 5.9 km
People came in large numbers from all over the world to participate in the marathon, and were seen enjoying the event and taking home their medals won in the marathon rated amongst the top 10 in the world.
The event was flagged off at at 5.15 am on Sunday morning with the first race category of 42.195 km full marathon in which the participants also covered the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The marathon, which began in 2002, has come a long way from being just an athlete’s activity to a massive cultural movement.
BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, a regular at the event, said, “I have participated every year since the time I was the Thane collector in 2002. I feel so happy and proud that I have been able to complete all 18 editions of the marathon. There has been a large participation this year and the event has been organised so well, there is no doubt that this is the best marathon in the world.”
The Dream runners carried banners, posters and shouted slogans for various causes like, mental health, world peace, human rights, environment protection among others that they are passionate about.
A software engineer, Manas Kumar, 32, from Hyderabad was dressed up in foam chains and posters with mental health helpline numbers to spread awareness. “It is very important for us to start speaking about this issue and treat it like a normal illness and take medicines for it. So many people are dealing with mental health problems but we are quiet about it, therefore I participated in the dream run to promote and spread awareness.”
A non-profit organisation vocalizing women reproductive health, Myna Mahila Foundation, failed to register on time but reached the event to cheer from the sidelines. Sweta Kanavaje, associate director of the organisation said, “Even though we could not participate, we came to cheer for the people who have put in great efforts to run this marathon for various causes. We also want to use this marathon as a platform to destigmatize discussion on periods and reproductive health for women.”
While most enjoyed it, some also complained about the excess crowd, especially during the special category races. Arun Kumar, 65, a senior citizen said, “The marathon has been good overall but the crowd is huge and everyone was afoot making it difficult to walk, and tripping over each other. I lost my companions on the way so I had to halt and make calls to catch up with them again.”
The event turned out to be a huge success, thanks to police personnel handling the crowd adeptly with the volunteers and doctors at medical camps on high alert.
