THE city is all geared up to run as the second edition of GiveLife Chennai Marathon takes shape to be held in mid-August. This year the GiveLife Marathon has received an international accreditation from The Association of International Marathon Society, London, which is an arm of the International Athletic Federation. As a result, this year, the marathon will also see runners from Europe and Africa.
The marathon will take place on August 22, which is also traditionally celebrated as Chennai Day. A campaign will also be run to make the city Diabetes and obesity free. Organised by Tamil Maiyam and Goodwill Communications Ltd.,the event will be in aid of GiveLife charity, a non-profit organisation, which provides holistic educational support to underprivileged children. Besides providing the fees, uniforms, books and stationary, GiveLife Charity also extends life skill programmes to the children.
The press meet to announce the marathon had actors Prashanth, Sneha and Priyamani and other personalities like Karthi Chidambaram and Narain Karthikeyan campaigning for the cause. “The biggest strength of this marathon is its great cause. Healthy living is another part of the whole thing. It’s a great boost for Chennai too, as it promotes the city as a marathon destination,” said Narain Karthikeyan, adding though that he would not be a part of the event this year, due to a race taking place in Germany at the same time.
The registration fee for the Half Marathon (21.09 kms) is Rs 100 and for the City Run (7 kms) is Rs 20. The registration for the Wheel Chair run (500 mts) will be for free. An additional fee of Rs 200 will be charged for those who wish to run with timer chips.
The marathon includes a Lean food mela which will have less carbo, nutritious bites made available from August 17 to 21 at Lady Wellington College Ground and a Breakfast Festival at the Island Grounds celebrating the various breakfast traditions of Tamil Nadu, at the conclusion of the marathon.
expresso@epmltd.com