Marathon to be an annual affair now

He said that henceforth the marathon will be an annual event to be held on the last Sunday of every December.

“There are about 500 places where marathon are an annual event. This year,in the golden jubilee year of the state,I would like to announce that Gujarat too will now appear on the map of cities organising marathons every year. The Sabarmati Marathon will become an annual event and will take place on the last Sunday of December,” Modi said at the flag-off ceremony.

He said that with this marathon,Ahmedabad will become one of the cities with a marathon to its name.

Over 20,000 people,including differently-abled,from varied age groups,participated in the marathon today. Besides 40 athletes from across the world,runners from 14 different states of the country also participated in the race.

The event had three categories — the full marathon,half marathon and a marathon for the differently-abled,the last one being held for the first time in the city.

The event was organised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the route included the BRTS corridor.

Women outrun men

Women athletes outdid men runners in the full marathon section both in the foreign and Indian sections.

Tesfaye and Biruktayit,both from Ethiopia,won the race in the men’s and women’s section. They won the prize money of 10,000 dollars. Vipul Saharia and Anisha Devi topped the Indian winners list and bagged the prize money of 2,150 dollars. Five women won in the Indian section compared to only three men.

Ethiopia and Kenya dominated the full marathon. India’s Chaula Shah and Priti Rao made it to 9th and 10th positions in the full marathon.