Mumbai marathon
A 64-year-old Gajanan Maljalkar died of cardiac arrest while running the Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday morning. According to Bombay Hospital PRO, the 64-year-old man was declared brought dead. A total 13 people were rushed to the hospital earlier, however, 10 out of them have been discharged after they received medical assistance. One person has lost his life while two others are still being treated. Further details awaited.
Approximately 55,000 runners participated for six different races in what has become a traditional annual event in the city on the third Sunday of January.
In addition to the Tata Mumbai Marathon - which has a total prize fund of US $420,000 - there is a half marathon, a 10km race, a Dream Run (5.9km), Senior Citizens Race (4.2km) and a Champions with Disability Race (1.5km).
The event is a potent symbol of the fact that interest in recreational road running is growing rapidly in India, driven by TMM 2020 race promoters Procam International. Given the country's massive population, India is obviously a reserve of untapped elite talent as well.
Entries for the marathon itself are just under 10,000 runners which means that the anticipated number of finishers in the race will have more-or-less doubled in the last five years.
A similar upward trajectory can be seen in the half marathon which has more than 15,000 entries, with an expected increase in finishers which will have increased by approximately 20% in just two years.
(With inputs from IANS)
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