30,000 runners and celebrities to take part in Mumbai Marathon

Mumbai, Jan 20 (UNI) Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon will have a huge participation of thirty thousand runners from India as well as abroad.

According to sources, the half marathon will start at 0640 hrs while marathon race will start at 0740 hrs.

Celebrities like industrialist Anil Ambani, Karan Johar, Mandira Bedi, Zakir Hussain, Shina N C , Sanjeev Kapoor and many others will participate in this event.

Heavy arrangements have been made on the marathon track with special podiums for camera units and the administration has also diverted several routes during the marathon time.

The event which is attracting the attention of most of the celebrities is being organised in the city for the last several years and is considered as one of the most prestigious events.

Many celebrities from various sports field including Arvind D'Silva, Jaspal Rana have arrived in the city for the event apart from double olympic gold Medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, former women's marathon world record holder Tegla Loroupe of Kenya.

Former World Cup winning cricketer from Sri Lanka Aravinda D'silva reinforced the need for fitness which he called being an important part of any sportsperson's career while speaking on the eve of the event here today.

The former ace batsman, who is one of the Brand Ambassadors of the marathon, showed his support for Sunday's race in his interaction with media.''I am happy to be part of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and support its charity initiative.'' He, who has been part of a number of charity initiatives D'silva added, ''We must do all we can to help those who are less fortunate.'' ''It is my responsibility to help the needy. I do it as I have been blessed with good things and I can spare a little of my time to share it with those who are less fortunate. I try never to say no as I know I can help them. If it means playing cricket again I will do.' The man from whose bat the ball flowed to the fence was just as fluent when quizzed on how fitness was a key factor for any sportsperson. ''Running is a good way to keep fit for anyone. It is necessary to be fit as also to have skill. Some people have to work slightly harder than the rest but anyone can do it'' ''It was the likes of Imran Khan who inspired cricketers to concentrate on fitness in cricket. It was something that had to happen over time and is for the good of the sport'', added D'silva Meanwhile, top Indian runner and last year's winner of Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon among Indian men, Nathuram said he was completely ready to repeat his feat this year too when the race begins on Sunday.

The man, who has gone into hibernation since his win last year, looked in a good shape. The man training under the Army Sporting Institute in Pune has his focus on not only the gold medal today but also an improvement on his mark of 2:24.

''I think I have trained well enough to finish somewhere near 2:21 or 2:22'', added the soft spoken man from Rajasthan. ''I know the course well as I have taken part in every edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon since the beginning. That will be a small advantage for me tomorrow'', added Nathuram.

Apart from being one of the leading Indian men in the Marathon, Nathuram is also part of the Greatest Race on Earth team for India.

India currently sits in fifth place in the Nations Challenge and sits on top of the table in South Asia.

Ace shooter Jaspal Rana was also present on the occasion. Other Indians in the fray are KC Ramu, who returns to Mumbai to be part of the Half Marathon which he won in 2005. ''I too am in good shape and will try my best to win the gold.'' A woman, who is on a mission is Madhuri Gurnule, will look to break her own national Half Marathon record.''I was close to breaking my own national mark when I took part in a state half marathon only about a week ago. I was not totally focused then but still did and came within seconds of the mark. I know I can break the record and will do all that I can to break it on Sunday.'' UNI JM PM PDS RAI2002