The Hindu : Sport : All set for Chennai Marathon

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Friday, Aug 29, 2008
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All set for Chennai Marathon

Chennai: Everything is falling in place as this metropolis gets on the starting line for the MARG-Chennai marathon on Sunday. The current estimate of those behind organising the event is about 50,000 runners. Their optimism cannot be faulted in the context of the publicity being generated and efforts made to create public awareness.

Detailing the features of the half-marathon (21.09 kms) with a prize money of Rs. 70 lakh, Ms. Kanimozhi, MP, told a media conference on Thursday that the event reflected one more face of this great city. She wanted the Chennai Marathon to project to the national and international audience what the city had to offer. She described the event as “multi-dimensional” and aimed at creating social awareness.

Fr. Gasper Raj, Founder, Tamil Maiyam, confirmed that the best among national-level athletes were part of the 2500 runners registered already. He added that runners from all walks of life and age groups could register on Friday and Saturday at specified centres for the seven-km run. There will be no registration fee. Top sportsmen like K. Srikkanth and Dhanraj Pillay, actors Surya, Arya, Jeeva and TV stars like Anu Hassan will participate in event as competitors.

The torch relay which is currently on from Kanyakumari, Rameswaram and Udhagamandalam will converge in the city on Saturday.

Anthem launched

On Wednesday, the Chennai Marathon anthem was launched at a gala function. Composed by Paul Jacob, the anthem was sung by 40 children from “Ashram” on the stage, and the CD was later released by TV anchor and actor, Anu Hasan. The first CD was received by actor Tarika.

G.R.K. Reddy, Chief Managing Director, MARG, the chief sponsor, described the Chennai Marathon as a historic event, and conveyed his appreciation to those who had conceived the project to help underprivileged children. He pointed out how corporate India could eradicate the social inequalities.

Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director, Shriram Life, and Director Give Life Charity, outlined the need to look after the underprivileged children and the role being played by the Charity. She labelled Chennai Marathon as one event mirroring different dimensions to the people here and abroad, and thanked Mr. Reddy and the corporate units for extending their co-operation for the event. She said Give Life had a vision to fulfil and everything was being done to achieve this goal over the next few years.

The official mini-marathon (21.09 km) will start at 6:30 a.m. and will be followed by the city run an hour later. M.S. Gill, Union Minister of state for Sports and Youth Affairs will attend the prize distribution function. — Special Correspondent

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