The 6th edition of the Airtel Kolkata Marathon held today was a success as it would be already declared few days ago by the organizing secretary Prochy Mehta in Kolkata. About 20,000 runners turned up today to participate in this event. The race is also being considered a qualifying run for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
This run remains one of those weird races in India which differentiates between men and women runners, creating a false impression that maybe women runners are not capable of running the 42K, or even the half marathon! What about the women runners who want to run the marathon, they are not even allowed by definition of the events. A sad state of affairs.
And what you get out of it is the huge prize Money
A total of Rs 11 lakhs will be awarded as prize money. The winner of the men’s marathon will receive Rs 3.20 lakh, while winner of the women’s half marathon will be awarded Rs Rs 1.10 lakh.
This year the speciality was that the Kolkata marathon has been designated as a qualifying race for the 2010 Commonwealth games to be held in New Delhi in October. Hence this race assumes additional importance for the elite Indian runners aspiring to qualify for this premier event in India.
The run is probably the largest marathon of eastern India, where running has not really picked up like the rest of India. So, it is motivating to see at least one event which continues to keep the flag flying. However, do not expect a well managed race, or great traffic control. Running the full marathon would probably remain a challenge for almost all except the elites.
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