Shri Ramanlal Vora and Shri Gautam Shah flag off third leg of The Great India Run
Early on Wednesday morning, the banks of Sabarmati River were peppered by the footsteps of a person who could be considered the country’s most famous runner. It was, in fact, Milind Soman and his entourage, who commenced their run from Ahmedabad to Mumbai via Silvassa, as part of “The Great India Run.”
Flagged off by Shri Ramanlal Vora, Social Justice & Empowerment Minister of Gujarat and Shri Gautam Shah, Mayor of Ahmedabad at The Waterfront at NID Paldi, this is the third Leg of The Great India Run conceptualised by ProSportify in association with MobieFit Technologies which started from New Delhi on the 17th of July. Simultaneously, a 5k fun run was also flagged off till the Vallabh, Sadan Riverfront Route that saw people of Ahmedabad city come out to celebrate the joy of running.
Icon Runner Milind Soman arrived in the city yesterday to run for the cause of fitness advocated by the country’s first ever multi-city marathon. He is going to cover a stretch of 570 kms in nine days traversing through the scenic town of Silvassa. Alongside him are Nasir Kakar and Ritu Joshi. Dinesh Heda would be joining them a day later from Vadodara. Milind along with the group of ultra runners would reach Mumbai from their respective routes on the 4th of August 2016, two days ahead of the earlier scheduled date.
“Great India Run is a celebration of the sport, and a way for runners of all ages and abilities to share their passion for running and inspire others to get moving. I look forward to promote a healthy lifestyle and facilitate runners to display their best sportsmanship,” said Milind Soman, Icon Runner for The Great India Run, just minutes before embarking on his journey for Mumbai from Ahmedabad via Silvassa.
The aim of The Great India Run is to promote fitness in the country, and the route which began in Delhi traversing through parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Maharashtra apart from Delhi attempts to do just that. At its major pit stops, the run has also organized 5k runs to involve the local community in the sport of running.
The fun runs were held in Ghaziabad, Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, and today in Ahmedabad. Silvassa, which is the next destination, will see both a 5k and 21k run, while the end point of Mumbai will see a 5k run. Keeping the spirit of sport in mind, proceeds from the fun runs will go to the “Go Sports Foundation” in order to help future Olympians make a mark in the sporting world.
The Ultra Runners, who are running from Delhi to Mumbai are also well on their way to completing The Great India Run two days ahead of schedule. Aiming to finish the run by the 4th of July rather than the 6th, they’ve been spurred on by a pleasant change in the weather.
The contingent consists of Arun Bhardwaj, Siddarth Choudhary, David Bredo, Yuri Esperson, Meenal Kotak, Ranjana Deopa, Melanie Delaney, Joginder Chandna, Sreekanth Reddi, Pia Hansson, Shweta Sharma, Sunil Sharma, Dhanaee Kumar and Kaushal Chauhan along with two Ambulances, a Nutrition vehicle and a nutritionist, three physiotherapists, and two masseurs with a support staff of 40.
The noble and philanthropic aim of The Great India Run has seen sponsors drive support for the event. Tata Salt, the all-conquering salt giant has been roped in as the title sponsor while Aquaguard has backed the event as well. Adidas, the elite sports apparel brand is outfitting the athletes during this tough excursion. NewsX, the iTV owned and operated 24hour news channel is on board as producer of the run, and will telecast live the most crucial moments of the race.