Pics: Abhijith Kolpe

Media release

Mangaluru, Nov 6: On the Sunday morning of November 6, 2500 runners woke the city up by running in the iconic Mangala Stadium. With 2500 runners participating in the HM, 10 km, 5 km, and 2 km categories, the Niveus Mangalore Marathon was a huge success. The biggest running event in Mangaluru's history attracted runners from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Mysuru and more than 20 other Indian cities.

The warm-up session was led by Zeus fitness, which got the event off to a great start. MCC commissioner Akshy Sridhar who is also a running enthusiast and Geetha Kulkarni, ACP Traffic, flagged off the 21.1 KM Half Marathon race with over 350 participants at 5.15 am. The HM commenced in Mangala Stadium and proceeded towards Kulur Ferry road - Kottara Chowki - Kulur bridge, Tannirbhavi beach road. Following the Tannirbhavi beach, the runners took a U-turn to head back to Mangala Stadium. Every 2 km along the route, hydration and medical aid stations were set up.

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Soon after the 10 KM, 5 KM and 2 KM races were flagged off by Jitesh Rai, store manager- Decathlon, Roshan Bava, chief operating officer, Niveus Solutions, Prashant Shet, partner, S L Shet Jewellers, Abhilash Dominic, race director, Niveus Mangalore Marathon 2022 and Amitha D’Souza, president, Mangalore Runners Club. It was an event for all be it a beginner or seasoned athlete. Children from Chetana Child Development Centre who were the charity partners of the event and visually impaired from Saravamangala Trust also participated in the run making them feel inclusive.

Along Kulur Ferry Road, the passion of Mangaloreans for a healthy lifestyle was seen in full throttle. From a five-year-old to an 82-year-old, participants of various ages ran to experience the special scenic route planned by the event's organisers, Mangalore Runners Club.

After crossing the finish line, each runner received an attractive medal which they wore with pride. A healthy breakfast was served and participants enjoyed a cultural spectacular that featured Tulunadu art forms such tiger dance, Yaksagana, and Bhoota Khola by Shree Mookambika Chende and Royal Creations, Mangaluru.

The chief guests of the event were mayor Jayanand Anchan, MLA Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru South and MCC commissioner Akshy Sridhar. They distributed the prizes to the winners in the half marathon and 10 K category. Vedavyas Kamath addressed the audience, welcoming all the outstation participants and congratulating all winners. He applauded the organisers for incorporating Tulu Nadu culture into the event and for choosing a scenic route for the run. Akshy Sridhar, a runner himself, finished second among Dakshina Kannada runners in the HM.

The winner in the Half Marathon Open Category Male was Sachin with a course record of 1:14:12. In the women’s category, Deepa Nayak stood first with a timing of 1:44:55.

In the 10km race open men’s category, Cibin Changappa bagged the first place with a timing of 35:04 and Spandana in the women’s category with a timing of 48:23.

VJ Dixon was the host and brought in a lot of energy. All the participants thoroughly enjoyed the event thanks to the efforts of the Mangalore Runners Club who have been toiling hard for the past few months to make this happen. The event sponsors along with over 200 volunteers, 100 medical professionals from KMC hospital, the police force and the local administration supported the event.

Mangalore Runners Club (MRC), is a not-for-profit organization formed by a diverse group of runners of all ages and abilities from various walks of life. The Mangalore Marathon was planned by MRC with a mission to create a long-term community-focused running event that encourages people of all levels to live a healthy life and improve their personal fitness by running. They aim to place Mangalore on the world marathon map by organizing the Mangalore Marathon year on year in a professional way. This would help to popularize Mangalore around the world and attract tourists to our lovely city. Along with promoting fitness, the event also served as a fundraiser for the Mangalore based Chetana Child Development Centre, which works to improve lives of children with disabilities. MRC had partnered with TIPS sessions, a Karnataka based NGO to make this event litter free and a Zero Waste Event.

“Mangalore Marathon will be back again in November 2023 and will be much bigger and also include a Full Marathon,” said Abhilash Dominic the Race Director of Niveus Mangalore Marathon 2022.

Winners

Half Marathon Open Men’s Category
1. Sachin 1:14:12
2. Rahul Shukla 1:15:48
3. Venkatesha 1:16:29

Half Marathon Open Women’s Category
1. Deepa Nayak 1:44:55
2. Mehwish Hussain 2:05:56
3. Sandhya K 2:07:31

10K Open Men’s Category
1. Cibin Changappa 35:04
2. Dasharath N T 36:12
3. Lara Francis 36:12

10k Open Women’s Category
1. Spandana 48:23
2. Dhanusha 48:23
3. Chaitra 48:23