Mumbai Runs to Secure its Future

Mumbai will be up and running on January 18, 2009, the date of the sixth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. 35,450 participants will line up at the starting point outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in a show of unity and solidarity to bring the city together on the unified platform of sport.

With less than a month to go for Asia’s richest and largest marathon, the strong message being sent out to the world is that “Mumbai is safe” and what better way to drive home the message than play host to this prestigious international event that begins and ends at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and has as its Hospitality Partner The Trident, two locations that were targets of the dastardly attacks on 26/11.

Announcing the preparedness to host the event, which has less than a month to go was Neeraj Swaroop, Regional Chief Executive, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, the title sponsor, along with S Ramadorai, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Consultancy Services, the Associate Sponsor and Devendra Bharma, Executive Vice President, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Mumbai. Backing their statements was the Deputy Chief Minister Shri Chhagan Bhujbal, MP and IOA President Shri Suresh Kalmadi, high ranking officials from the State Government and the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika and a cross section of Mumbai’s prominent citizens.

According to Neeraj Swaroop, Regional Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank, India & South Asia, “I am delighted to know that 35,000 Mumbaikars will gather together to Run for their cause on January 18, 2009. The event showcases the best of Mumbai from its determined spirit to its large heartedness. What better time to demonstrate these qualities than now as we as a city resolutely bounce back from last month’s tragedy.

This year, we have dedicated the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009 to the theme ‘Run for a Cause’. Through our campaign, we have made special efforts to encourage every participant to use the marathon to support a cause close to their hearts. I look forward to seeing Mumbaikars and others from around India and the world come together to run for their favourite cause and for a better and more secure Mumbai.”

S Ramadorai, CEO and Managing Director Tata Consultancy Services said, “The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is symbolic of grit, determination and display of human spirit, which are the attributes that TCS stands for. This event gives over 1,200 TCSers an opportunity to run for a common cause to celebrate the indomitable spirit of Mumbai.”

Devendra Bharma, Executive Vice President, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Mumbai said, “Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai is delighted to partner the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon once again for 2009. The run galvanises the citizens of Mumbai like no other event has. It brings together people across cultures, religions and social strata.”

Since its inception in 2004, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been embraced by the city and its citizens as its very own, the sense of ownership and belonging strengthening over the years. In the sixth year the event was oversubscribed much before the last date and it is this commitment from the participants that propels promoters Procam International, backed by the powers that govern, to deliver an even better event on January 18, 2009.

Marathon legend and Race Director Hugh Jones puts things in the right perspective when he says, “Marathons are exercises in adversity. Runners struggle to complete them, but doing so brings great satisfaction and fellow-feeling. The same is true for the organisation of marathons. Putting together an event of the scale and complexity of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is a difficult process at the best of times, so much more so in the wake of the November events in Mumbai.”

“Like the New York Marathon held only seven weeks after the 9/11 disaster, I am convinced that the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon will help people to rise above the recent trauma. Running a marathon is an assertion of basic human capabilities, and it brings out the best in people. It is a demonstration of their own strength and determination in cooperation with others. The only adversary is one’s self.”

The sixth edition of The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is a statement that the event has defied all odds and exceeded all expectations. Be it the number of registered participants, the quality of the elite athlete field, the winning times or the amounts raised towards charity, the growth and improvement curve has been significant.

If at all one thing remained steady, it has been the rock solid commitment of the promoters, sponsors and partners to the event to intensify the marathon experience of each individual every year.

One of the reasons for opening registrations six months prior to the event was to encourage more and more participants to strive and graduate from the Dream Run into the Half Marathon and from the Half Marathon into Marathon. Going by the registration figures of the various categories it can be said with certainty that the number of runners who have graduated from fun runners into serious runners is now significant.

The Full Marathon has received 2500 entries, while the Half Marathon a whopping 11,000. The Senior Citizens’ Run will have 1800 participants, while the Wheelchair Event 150 with 20,000 people having registered for the Dream Run.

Another reason for the early date of registrations was to give all participants desirous of raising money for charity ample time to reach out to a wider circle of people and garner support for their drive. The response, backed by the efforts of the Official Charity Partner United Way, has been encouraging and there are all indications that the monies raised this year will exceed the figure of Rs 8.5 crores that was reached last year.

Already the richest marathon in Asia, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009 will now offer an enhanced prize purse of USD 250,000, an increase of USD 10,000 over what was on offer last year. The increase in prize money is in keeping with the stature of the event, tagged as amongst the top ten marathons in the world.

The race categories for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2009 would be as follows: Full Marathon (42.195km); Half Marathon (21.097km); Dream Run (6km); Sr. Citizens’ Run (4.3km) and the Wheelchair Event (2.5km).

The stage is set for yet another successful edition of Mumbai’s foremost sporting event and the leading players have confirmed their participation.

The world will be watching to see how Mumbai and its citizens rally around the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, making a strong statement to the world that “Mumbai Runs to Secure its Future.”