New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS): Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, two-time world champion Sundar Singh and world number one para badminton player Parul Parmar are among the top athletes participating in the fifth edition of the Cairn Pink City Half Marathon which is being held virtually between December 13-20.

Along with Parmar, Jhajharia and Gurjar, there will be seven other para-athletes competing at the marathon from different cities across the country. All these para athletes, from Rajasthan and Gujarat, are being supported by Cairn Foundation (CF) as part of an MoU signed between the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and CF to support the overall development of the athletes last December.

"Through this marathon we want to send a message to every corner of the country-to every house, village and cities -about staying fit. The government of India's Fit India movement will also get a major boost through this virtual marathon. Our mission is to motivate everyone, right from 8 to 80 years, to run and stay physically fit and healthy," said Jhajharia, who will be taking part from Jaipur.

The virtual marathon format is also kept flexible for participants who can choose the date, time, location, route, distance, based on their convenience. Participants need to run or walk or jog using any of the listed but not limited GPRS applications to record their activity and upload the screenshot of the activity at the end of the race.

This year, the event has four categories - Half Marathon 21 km, Cool Run - 21 km, Dream Run - 5 km, Fun Run - 2km

Calling everyone to join the marathon, Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games bronze medallist para athlete Sandeep Singh Maan said: "During this global pandemic, the focus has turned to maintaining fitness. All of us have also realised how much it is important to stay physically fit to stay healthy. This year's virtual marathon has been organised keeping these factors in mind."