Visakhapatnam, Nov 13 (IANS): Thousands of people participated with enthusiasm in the Vizag Navy Marathon held on Sunday.

Men, women and people of different age groups participated in 5K, 10K, half marathon (21K) and full marathon (42) held along the coastline.

Over 18,000 people participated in all the four categories. There were about 13,000 participants in the 5K run.

The 5K run for fun was flagged by Rear Admiral Sandeep Pradhan, Chief Staff Officer (Personnel and Administration), Eastern Naval Command, Bollywood actor Milind Soman and Tollywood actor Adivi Shesh near Kalimata Mandir at RK Beach.

The full marathon was flagged by race director Dr Muralidhar Nannapeni. It concluded at INS Kalinga. The winners were given prizes and cash awards.

Navy employees, students, representatives of various voluntary organisations, youth participated in the Limca Sportz Vizag Navy Marathon.

The course of the run is accredited by Association of International Marathons (AIMS ), making it a registered professional internationally recognized event that is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

AIMS is an association of long-distance running races. Vizag Navy Marathon has been a qualifier for the 'World Marathon Majors' after attaining the AIMS membership in 2018.