Hugh Jones is pleasantly surprised at the weather these days in the city, some five days before the 12th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) here on coming Sunday.
Jones, the first Britisher to win the London Marathon in 1982 and a reputed distance runner, said he felt slightly cooler than it was normally at the SCMM.
The 59-year-old Jones has been the Race Director of the SCMM since 2004.
Last year, Kenya’s Evans Roto won the race in 2.09.33 seconds as against the course record of 2.09.32 seconds set by Ugandan Jackson Kiprop in 2013. Roto missed the bonus award of $ 15,000.
The additional commissioner of Police (Traffic), Quaiser Khalid said that deployment of volunteers and use of public address systems near the Churchgate inter-section and other crossings will be dealt with effectively to make it a hindrance-free race.
The city is expected to see over 40,000 runners hit the streets on Sunday morning; the main marathon will start and finish in front of Central Railway’s iconic office at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
“This is where the running movement started in India. People in urban India have taken to street running,’’ said the 59-year-old.
There are several categories, most of which will raise money for charity. Eleven teams of the police force will also compete for the Police Cup. Each of the 11 teams with four runners each will cover the marathon distance in relay-format; each runner running a distance of 10.5 km.