New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): Prominent athletes Shiva Thapa, Khushbir Kaur and Manpreet Kaur will run as volunteers along with visually impaired school children in the 21st edition of the Salwan marathon at the Army equestrian centre here on November 6.

Over 40,000 kids, including 2500 visually impaired and 300 differently-abled children, from over 800 schools across India are expected to take part in the strenuous 4.5 kilometre long and challenging run.

The trio of Shiva, Khushbir and Manpreet, who will cheer and run alongside the kids, will also promote and emphasise the tenets of Salwan Marathon.

Shiva, a two time Olympian, is the youngest Indian boxer ever to qualify for the Olympic Games while Khushbir, the 20 km race-walker, represented India at the recently concluded Rio Olympics and has the distinction of being the first Indian woman to win an international medal in race walking after finishing second at the Asian Games held at Incheon. Manpreet is the national record holder in shotput.

"We are delighted at the athletes being a part of the marathon. I think it is an eye-opener for all to feel the joy of giving themselves unequivocally for a cause," Samrata Diwan, a spokesperson of the organisers, said. 

"They have brought glory to the country at some of the biggest sporting events and are great role models, hence it surely will be a memorable experience for both the kids and the volunteers to run alongside and interact with each other, hear each other's stories of struggle and triumph of the human spirit," she added.