In 2011, Hyderabad witnessed its first full fledged city marathon, which attracted 1,180 participants. Fast forward to 2015 – Hyderabad is getting ready to welcome its fifth edition of marathon with a record participation of 14,000 runners on August 30. The record registrations, many believe, is an indication that recreational running has started to take root in the culture of Hyderabad.
The five-year journey for Hyderabad Runners (HR), the organisation promoting running as a way of active lifestyle and who hold the annual Hyderabad marathon, was not all that easy.
“When we started HR in 2007, except one 10K event, there were not many running events in Hyderabad. It took us four years of hard work to inculcate community running in Hyderabad before launching the Hyderabad marathon in 2011. Now, there is definitely an ecosystem to support recreational running in the city,” recalls Rajesh Vetcha, the founding member of HR.
The changing face of Hyderabad, in terms of the large number of non-resident Indians returning from western countries where recreational running is institutionalised, the emergence of the IT hub in the Madhapur-Gachibowli area that brought in a different living culture and the growing realisation about the need to lead an active lifestyle helped.
The formation of area-wise running groups, senior runners here believe, became a catalyst to promote a culture of running.
“Running is more alluring as compared to other physical activities as it is the most basic and cheapest form of exercise that does not need expensive gym membership or entails paying an exorbitant fee to yoga instructors. Every year, participation in the Hyderabad marathon is increasing because there is a growing realisation among all age groups that staying fit is the right way forward for a quality life,” says V.V. Prasad, a senior member of HR.
The practise of holding running events round the year in Hyderabad has also helped.
“In addition to a huge event like Hyderabad marathon, we also hold runs regularly at various locations. In this day and age of social media, word spreads and such events do get extensive participation,” says Mr. Rajesh.
Interestingly, the Hyderabad marathon officially marks the start of a long marathon season that culminates with the Mumbai and Auroville marathons in January and February respectively. “It is easily among the toughest city marathons in India and therefore, runners take Hyderabad marathon as a challenge. There are a number of running groups coming from Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai and Bangalore to participate,” says Shiv Kosgi, Manager (operations), HR.
