The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Marathoners ran on their own steam as Bangalore slept

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Marathoners ran on their own steam as Bangalore slept

Avinash Nair

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Early risers: Participants of the BSNL Bangalore International Marathon 2007, in Bangalore on Sunday.

BANGALORE: Bangloreans slept as hundreds of marathoners ran the BSNL Bangalore International Marathon on Sunday. Hardly anyone came out to cheer the fleet-footed runners, though Murphy Town was an exception. The children there caused a virtual din with their wild cheering.

“The route this time was changed, winding through the residential pockets to enable the crowds to cheer and motivate the runners,” said Satyanarayana, Secretary, Karnataka Athletics Association. But sadly, there was no enthusiasm en route.

Unlike the previous years, when professional event managers conducted the marathon, the police this time were in place. The over-enthusiasm of the cops did come in the way of the half-marathoners, even at the Cubbon Park route. Near Lake Ulsoor, the cops waved on the traffic even as the runners approached the crossing.

The miscommunication was carried to the finish as neither the organisers nor the police could bring about a semblance of order, and the single-lane approach for the final lap in the stadium caused a lot of concern for the safety of the runners. The sight of half-marathoners — India’s Surender Singh and Ethiopia’s Habteselassie Gemechu — fighting for elbow room to snatch the gold left a sour taste.

The cheerleaders and the band, however, were a welcome relief.

But the participants took it in their stride. The route was good and the weather even better, they said.

Understandably, the charity run, with quite a few bigwigs and familiar faces, was the biggest attraction. The five-km-stretch of the run that wended its way in and around Cubbon Park was filled with a sea of humanity. Young and old, women and children took to the road this morning and many promised to return for the sheer joy of jogging in the crisp morning air. They numbered around 12,000. While the senior citizens’ run and the wheelchair events were greeted with wild cheers, the Indian finishers in the men’s and women’s main event too got nothing less.

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