43,000 run Mumbai marathon

Mumbai, Jan 18: Mumbai Marathon is the first major sporting event after the Nov 26 Mumbai Terror attacks 2008. This big even will see a city united for a cause.The theme of the marathon is peace and security and the response overwhelming.

Mumbaikars has come out of their houses and are taking part in the Marathon 2009, on Sunday, Jan 18. More than 43,000 entries have been received. The final prize for the winner of the Marathon is $ 250,000 (Rs 1.2 billion), said a spokesman for Mumbai Marathon to a media on Jan 17.

The Mumbai Marathon kick started from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on Sunday, Jan 18 morning. It can be recalled here that Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is also one of the place which was attacked by terrorists on the fateful Nov 26, 2008. Those who run for the Marathon includes 150 elite foreign athlete's, including 52 women, taking part in the full marathon that has attracted 2500 entrants.

Marathon is also witnessing celebrities taking part in the run. Anil Ambani, Milind Soman, Arjun Rampal, Vinay Pathak, Shreyas Talpade, Rahul Bose, Om Puri, Tara Sharma, Lillete Dubey, Dolly Thakore, Anand Mahindra, Amit Chandra, Archana Chandra, Sanjeev Kapoor and Annabelle Mehta are taking part in the Standard Chartered Marthon.

The brand ambassadors for Mumbai Marthon this year are John Abraham, three time Olympic champion Gabriela Szaba and Gail Dever. Famous Moroccan long distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj is also the ambassador to the Mumbai marathon. Tight security arrangements have been made to prevent any untoward incident during the Marathon.

Watch towers have been erected and CCTVs have been installed at strategic locations on the 42.19-km-long route between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in South Mumbai and Bandra Reclamation in western suburb.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)