One marathon,countless causes

Apart from those in wheelchairs,some ran despite various disabilities and others were ill or recovering.

They ran for causes that varied from peace,unity and environment to health. Some runners could have passed off as participants of a fancy dress contest. A man with amlas hanging all over his clothes sought to emphasise healthy eating,another dressed as a condom sought to create awareness about HIV. Ramesh Panchal and Joel Fernandes,dressed as Shivaji Maharaj and his enemy Afzal Khan respectively,ran together to bring out the message of unity.

Pradeep Patil,40,of Goregaon was dressed as a gorilla and completed the dream run. “If we don’t stop destroying the natural habitat of animals they will all come on the streets like I did today,” he said.

Suburban railway stations were almost as busy as on weekdays,with runners and supporters arriving at CST and Churchgate to participate in Asia’s largest marathon.

The 42-km full and 21-km half marathons were flagged off at 7.40 and 6.45 am from outside CST station and MMRDA grounds in Bandra respectively. Celebrities such as John Abraham,Akshay Kumar and Rahul Bose joined in.

Two Navy helicopters hovered over CST to add to the beating thuds of loudspeakers crackling with Bollywood songs that shot way beyond the permissible decibel levels.

While most runners made it to the finish line,the heat got the better of the rest,some fainting due to dehydration and being attended to by 50 doctors on duty at the 12 medical camps dotting the 42-km route.

The event saw over 142 corporate firms and 102 NGOs participating. Almost every such group had a theme or a message,printed on the runners’ shirts and banners,from saving water to injustice against husbands.

Business boom

Tailors,sweepers and domestic helps turned scrap dealers. With an estimated 110,000 litres of water consumed in five hours,thousand of plastic bottles littered the streets. Soni Gosari,who stitches saris at a slum near the Gymkhana,urged runners to drop water bottles in her sack. “One kilo of plastic bottles will fetch around Rs 5,” she said. Her business rivals included her three-year-old neighbour Arjun and 72-year-old Kamla.

Health no bar

Some of the runners who defied disability and illness:

Satyaprakash Tiwari,43,winner of 16 badminton golds at the Paralympics and with over 66 national medals,has run the marathon for five different causes in five years. “This time it’s about the hazards of global warming. Last year,it was police reforms and a tribute to the policemen killed in the 26/11 attacks,” said Tiwari,who lost both legs at age 15 in a railway accident. He participates in the 2.5-km wheelchair event,which saw 250 runners this year but has no prizes. “Every participant is a winner in himself,” Tiwari said.

* Vinod Bholaprasad Gupta,32,of Mazagaon joined the wheelchair event without a wheelchair: he ran on crutches. It was his fifth marathon; on two earlier occasions,defying a 70 per cent disability from polio,he was in the dream run on crutches,but the new rules restricted him to the wheelchair event this year. “We have the same kind of stamina for walking and should be allowed to join,” said Gupta,who has also trekked to Raigad Fort,Shivneri Fort near Pune,Peth Fort near Karjat and Naneghat,a mountain pass in the Western Ghats.

* Shailesh Patel,60,of Kalina recently had a bypass surgery for five heart blocks and then ran the 21-km half marathon,improving on his 7-km dream runs of the last four years. “When I consulted my doctor before I started training about a month ago,I thought he would stop me. But he encouraged me,assuring me I was fit enough,” said Patel.

* Patel’s friend Venkat Raman,52,too has bettered himself. “In 2008,I completed the half-marathon in 3 hours 11 minutes,in 2009 in 3 hours 9 minutes,and this year in just 2 hours 41 minutes,” he said.

* Bharati Valmiki,14,who lives in a Worli slum,is about 2.5 feet tall. “I was initially apprehensive about running but I gathered the courage. I fell behind many times because of my tiny legs but my friends helped me,even lifting me at times.” She ran with other beneficiaries and members of the NGO Light of Life that works for underprivileged children in Mumbai’s slums.