Not just fun, they ran for social causes too

BENGALURU: The rhythmic beat of shoes on asphalt reverberated in the heart of the city early Sunday, with more than 20,000 people stepping out for the TCS World 10K run.Starting from Kanteerava Stadium, they were participating in one of the five runs: The open 10K, Champions with disability, Majja run, Senior citizens' run and the World 10K run. Participation in the World 10K category was reserved only for national and international athletes.
The event kicked off with the open 10K run at 5.30am, with most runners hoping to complete the course under an hour.“I usually jog for fun, but I decided to challenge myself by doing the 10K run. I was worried about the route after Saturday's downpour, but everything went off smoothly ,“ said a participant.
The 6-km Majja run saw hundreds of people running and walking for a range of social causes, including empowering the girl child and going green. “We participated in the run to create awareness about our initiatives towards preventing suicides among the youth, as well as the importance of staying fit and loving life,“ said Bharathi Singh of the SaMudra Foundation that works to empower the youth through counselling.
“I'm part of a city-based laughter club and being fit has always been important to us.While I'm a regular walker, I never participated in a marathon before. So, I'll be halfwalking and half-running,“ said 67-year-old Parvathamma.
Those participating in the Champions with disability run could run alone or with a buddy and those on wheelchairs were helped by volunteers.
Fortis Hospital set up a 35bed camp at the finishing line and three medical stations along the route for emergencies. Said medical director Dr Vivek Jawali: “While we had made all ar rang ements, thankfully there was no untoward incident.“
Disability no deterrent
Sunil Jain, president of Astha Foundation that strives to empower the differently abled, celebrated his birthday by participating in the Champions with disability run. A wheelchair-bound tennis player, this is his third run. “In all, 92 members from our organization are participating in the run this year and of them 24 are people with disabilities,“ he said.
Shankarlinga B T and Keshav Telugu, wheelchair-bound tennis players, travelled 430km from Hubballi-Dharwad to take part in the run. “We came by train for the run and reached Bengaluru at 3am. Thankfully , it had stopped raining by then,“ said Shankarlinga.
Testing own limit
In his first attempt at running a distance this long, Vishwas K, a double arm amputee, clocked 65 minutes in the 10K open run. “I wanted to see and show just how capable my body is. So I decided to run the 10K this time,“ said Vishwas.
WHEN THEY RAN INTO A CESSPOOL
Saturday's thunderstorm left a mark on Sunday's 10k run too. Towards their 3-km-marker, marathoners ran into a massive cesspool that covered a sizeable stretch of MG Road.The runners diligently split into two groups -while one got onto the footpath, the other hopped on the side. However, those finicky about finish time didn't bother to stop. They just dashed ahead, splashing water.