Alongside tourism, concerted efforts are on to promote Mysuru as a sports destination and the 7th edition of Mysore Half Marathon to be held here on September 3 is a step in this direction.
Being organised by Life is Calling, a sports management company, the objective is to encourage a higher level of fitness and health consciousness and bring people out of their groove to participate in a mass run.
When Life is Calling launched the first edition of the half-marathon, it drew about 1,500 people and in 2016 these numbers had doubled. This year, registrations are expected to cross 4,000.
As P.B. Mitra of Life is Calling pointed out, every city has its own marathon and is an indicator of the city’s attitude to sporting events. “It is a half-marathon for now but as the numbers increase we plan to have a full-fledged marathon in Mysuru,” he told mediapersons here on Friday.
A full marathon entails running the stipulated distance of 42.195 km and half the distance for half a marathon as in Mysuru.
And in a bid to blend sports with tourism, the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has tied up with the organisers and will provide a package for the registrants from Bengaluru. For a nominal cost, the KSTDC will ferry the participants to Mysuru. It will also take them around places of tourist interest, said Mr. Mitra. Besides half-marathon, there is a 10,000 metre run for those above 16 years and a 5/6 km run or walk for those above 10.
Details
The details are available on http://lifeiscalling-sports.com/mysore/events or www.eventzalley.com
