Marathon Events : Running for a Cause

For many people Marathon may
just be a long-distance run that they can never hope to run considering the
stamina and endurance required for it. However, the corporate world and sports
institutions have used it effectively to communicate socially relevant messages
of fitness, health, cancer prevention and promoting the cause of a healthy heart.
It may not just be a
coincidence that Marathon event is commemorated in memory of a Greek soldier
Pheidippides who ran the distance from Marathon in Greece to Athens to convey
the message of victory over Persians in the Battle of Marathon. It became an
OIympics event in 1896 and the present distance of 42.195 kilometres or 26
miles 385 yards was standardized in 1921.
Hundreds of marathon events are held in the country every year. India has got
challenging terrains, valleys, mountains, coastline, river banks that make it
easier to plan marathons. Every region has its own unique marathon events. The
Kanchenjunga Marathon is held at an altitude of 16400 ft in Sikkim while Munnar
Marathon offers a pollution free environment to runners in high altitude in a
path seldom traversed by people.
Run for
a Cause
When it comes to promoting
social causes there is no sport to beat marathon as the running route is mostly
on the roads and seen by several thousands of people along the way, according to
Manoj Manavalan, a Kochi based entrepreneur and regular marathon runner. Kochi
has several major marathon events such as Spice Coast Marathon and the Navy
Marathon. Over the years several sports personalities such as Sachin Tendulkar,
cine stars and artistes have endorsed the marathons for a social cause.
Rajagiri Public School became
the first school in the country to organize a marathon in 2018 when it
conducted the Rajagiri Marathon spreading the message of world peace on
Hiroshima Day on August 6, 2018. “We thought of an innovative event as the school was celebrating its Silver
Jubilee. That’s when the idea of a half marathon for children came to my mind
and the vibrant School PTA took up the initiative to host the event,” according
to Rev Fr Varghese Kachappilly, CMI, Principal, Rajagiri School. It was a 10 km
event for school students followed by a ‘Fun Run’ for parents, teachers and
students. The second edition of the event Rajagiri Marathon 2019 was held on
September 22 this year on a larger scale
with events for senior category (21 km half marathon) , 10 km run for students
and 6 km ‘Fun Run’. “This year we had participants from six states including
Kerala. We were fortunate to have 12 year old Sasmitha from Tiruppur in
Tamilnadu running for us. She is aiming for the Guinness Book of Records as the
youngest girl having completed 103 marathons till date,” Ummer Farooq, Convenor
of Rajagiri Marathon said.
He is also on the organizing committee of a forthcoming Marathon to spread
awareness about lifestyle and rising cancer diseases. The marathon season has
started and several more on the pipeline across the country, he added.
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