Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation marathon set for December 10

It is set your speedometer time as the countryrsquos marathon season has taken off big time The VasaiVirar Municipal Corporation Marathon VVMM will be run on December 10 2023 making it the 11th edition of the annual event The overall prize money is set at Rs 54 lakh and over 16000 runners are expected to participate on race day The distances are 5 km and 11 km along with the half marathon 21 km and showpiece full marathon of 42 kmSome logisticsAnilkumar Pawar VasaiVirar City Municipal Corporation VVCMC commissioner announced the race at a press conference held at the Press Club Azad Maidan SoBo on Tuesday afternoon Pawar said ldquoThe full marathon winner gets R3 lakh as prize money and the half marathon winner goes back with R2 lakhrdquo Pawar claimed that elite athletes and prize money notwithstanding it is the amateurs that are the beating heart of the event ldquoWe have not increased the registration fee for the amateurs which stays at R750 for the full 42 km half 21 km and 11 km eventsrdquoMunicipal Commissioner Anilkumar Pawar speaks at the conference on Tuesday PicAtul KambleThe Vasai runners have always proclaimed that the route is scenic and this time said the commissioner ldquothere has been a concerted effort to increase the greenery and aesthetics of the route with more tree plantation etcrdquo There has also been a slight change in the 5 km and 11 km route to take advantage of the wider roads as well as decongest the route The start timings have been pushed ahead to 530 am for the 42km event and 6 am for the 21km race which is 30 minutes earlier than the usual start timeMedical aspectsThe medical component will be looked after by medical partner IASIS Hospital led by Dr Mahabali Singh Dr Singh said at the conference ldquoI have observed in previous editions that the most common problems afflicting runners are dehydration and muscle spasms We will have a number of stations en route and I am in discussion with the medical teams When we see runners who are completely exhausted we may advise them to halt running While I do respect the spirit of finishing a marathon it should not come at the cost of your healthrdquoThere will be a Medical Base Camp at the New Viva College which will have an ICU setup provided by IASIS Hospital staffed by cardiologists and doctors from the hospital as well as from the medical associations of Virar Nalla Sopara and Vasai Seven cardiac ambulances will be stationed along the route along with regular ambulances at each of the 14 medical stations on the route There will also be 40 doctors patrolling the route on motorbikes to ensure quick response timeBoth the doctor and the municipal commissioner spoke of the lesser air pollution in the Vasai area because of the added greenery en route for runners Dr Singh advised runners not just for this event to start their training runs early to combat the heavy air pollution which has become a cause for concern in the cityThe big namesAsian Games multiple medallist and World Athletics Championships finalist Parul Chaudhary will be the event ambassador The 28yearold athlete from Ikaluta village near Meerut will be in Vasai on Saturday December 9 a day before the event Rudranksh Patil from Thane will also be the face of the event Patil was part of the Asian Games gold medalwinning team in the 10m Air Rifle event The 19yearold has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic GamesThe full marathon will feature twotime defending champion and course record holder Mohit Rathore of UP besides Aurangabadrsquos Dhanwant Prahlad with a Personal Best PB of 22038 Tirtha Pun from the Gorkha Regiment Indian Army with a PB of 222 Rajasthanrsquos Hemant Singh with a PB of 22224 and Tribhuwan from the Kumaun Regiment Ranikhet who has a PB of 226The civic corporation is also inviting local bands and dance groups to perform at the lsquoCheer Zonesrsquo which will be set up along the marathon route The anchor at the press conference claimed that VasaiVirar is now an extended part of the city which is ldquoboomingrdquo with rapid infra development and sports facilities coming up in the area The marathon is part of both Indiarsquos running boom and VasaiVirarrsquos overall boom Registration can be done through the event website wwwvvmmin Registrations will close on November 20Rs 3 lakhAmount to be awarded as prize money for full marathon