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Photo: Murali Kumar K.

Catch the fever Apart from the main event, there are a host of cool events including the Majja Run

If the fitness fad is not already on, then the techie-filled Garden City is consciously veering towards a health regime.The umpteen citizens into their walks or jogging routines are an indication that the health craze has certainly caught on.

It’s in the wake of this changing scenario that Procam, the event managers thought it fit to bring the elite runners both – track and road – on a common platform with a 10k run to the city. Brushing shoulders with the elite runners of the world is certainly going to be a high. Paul Tergat, the five-times world cross-country champion from Kenya from 1995 to 1999, two-time silver medallist in the 10,000 metres at the world championships; silver medallist in the 10,000 metres at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and gold medal winner at the IAAF half marathon is expected to run with Dieudonne Disi of Rwanda, the Delhi half marathon winner in 2007 who also later in the year went onto the win the Lagos half marathon is the firm favourite.

In the distaff side Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere, a multiple world champion and Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse should provide the thrills. Nike, the running partner for Sunfeast World 10k run, is on an overdrive to fine-tune the Bangaloreans so that they can match the best in the world and to this effect have roped in fitness experts from UK to share their inputs and gear up the runners.

Former Dempo footballer Elvis Goes, who returned from the US, with a high-level football coaching license is currently based in Bangalore and runs a Physiotherapy and sports medicine centre at Koramangala. He feels that “the running bug” has definitely bitten Bangaloreans and a sea-change could be expected after the event on Sunday.

V.R. Beedu, a former Indian athletics coach and Reeth Abraham, Arjuna awardee and former India long jumper too have joined hands to conduct runs at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium every morning, for over three weeks now. The online registration too has proved very encouraging and the organisers feel that with the entries open till the eve of the event, the numbers could well touch over 25,000.

Apart from the main event, the world 10k run, which is for elite runners alone, the organisers will have events for Nation’s Challenge (10 kms), wherein every AFI affiliated unit is allowed to send a team of two men and one women to participate, with the winner determined by the aggregate time of the entire team; the Open 10k Run (for 15 years and above), the Majja Run (5.7 km), the Senior Citizen’s Run (4 kms (above 60 years)) and the wheelchair event (4 km for above 12 km). Only runners with timing chips will be recorded.

The Open 10k IT Challenge will be a unique event for the IT and ITES Community. To qualify for the challenge, an IT or ITES company must register a team of minimum 30 participants (20 men and 10 women) with no limitation on the maximum number of participants. The timings of the first 20 men finishers and the first 10 women finishers from the company will be added and the one with the lowest aggregate time will be the winner.

Those participants representing the corporate in the IT Challenge will need to avail of the Timing Chip. Winners will be announced post Race Day on tabulation of all timings. So come Sunday, get into your sneakers and hit the road.

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