BANGALORE, January 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
- Shri. Milkha Singh- The Flying Sikh - was the Brand Ambassador of SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2013
- Men From the Armed Forces Share Honours with the Kenyan Runners to Take Top Positions in the Full and Half Marathon
- Daniel Yegon and Gladys Tarus Win the Full Marathon in the Men's and Women's Open Categories
- Tripurari Singh and Sudhamani Wins the Full Marathon in the Men's and Women's Indian Categories
Drumbeats and loud cheering filled the air at KTPO, Whitefield as thousands ran to show their love for Bengaluru at the country's only midnight marathon on Saturday night. The 7th edition of this hugely popular Midnight Marathon titled "SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2013", organized by Rotary Banglaore IT Corridor (RBITC), was flagged off on Saturday night/Sunday early morning amidst a highly charged atmosphere.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140106/10086017)
More than 10,000 runners - young, old and children - took part in the event with great fervor. It was an honor and a revered experience to see over 150 athletes from the armed forces arrive and participate in the event and support the theme of this year's marathon 'Bhaag Bengaluru Bhaag'. Runners from 17 different nationalities participated in the marathon this year. There was also tremendous support from corporates which contributed hugely to the success of the Midnight Marathon. Shri. Milkha Singh - The Flying Sikh, the brand Ambassador of SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon, even though not present at the event, sent his good wishes and congratulations to all the winners.
The Bengaluru Midnight Marathon is conducted by Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor every year as the main fund-raiser event for RBITC's social service projects relating to environment, health, community and vocational services in and around Bangalore. This marathon is the only midnight marathon in Asia and has been gaining fast momentum and recognition every passing year. The key events at SBMM 2013 held on December 14/15, 2013 included the SBI Full Marathon, Carewel Half Marathon, Target 10k Run, Schneider IT City Fun Run, Airbus Corporate Relay Cup, Community Relay by Nambiars and the Women's Relay.
In the closely-fought men's open category - full marathon of 42.195 kms - Daniel Yegon from Kenya ran his way to the first place with timing of 2 hours 11 minutes and 52 seconds. Ebesa Merga Ejgu from Ethiopia came in second with a timing of 2 hours 15 minutes. Daniel had come first even last year with a timing of 2 hours 27 minutes.
In the men's Indian category - full marathon - Tripurari Singh from MEG & Centre, Bangalore, came first with a timing of 2 hours 25 minutes and 35 seconds followed by Poovanna also from MEG & Centre at 2 hours 37 minutes 21 seconds.
In the women's category - full marathon - Gladys Jepkechei Tarus from Kenya came first in the open category and Sudhamani from Chennai came first in the Indian category.
In the half marathon of 21 kms, that had a participation of over 1200 runners, David Kiprotich from Kenya came first with a timing of 1 hour 8 minutes and 20 seconds with Fikresedassie Haile from Ethiopia coming in second in the open category. In the Indian men's category for half marathon, Santhosh from MEG & Centre, Bangalore, came first with a timing of 1 hour 11 minutes 17 seconds, and Sridhar Bajantri also from MEG & Centre, Bangalore, came second with a timing of 1 hour 14 minutes.
The half marathon in the women's category - Indian category was won by Shilpi Sahu with a timing of 1 hour 45 minutes followed by N. Divya in the second place with a timing of 1 hour 48 minutes. There was no participants in the open category.
The Target 10k winners-Men's category- Open, Alemayehu from Ethiopia came first with Mudegeto from Ethiopia coming in second. In the Indian Men's category, all three winners were from MEG & Centre - Immanuvel came first with Jubin Shah RR coming in the second position. In the women's Target 10k category, the winner was Tim Tim Sharma with a timing of 43 minutes 56 seconds.
The winners had different things to say about the experience of running during the night. Some found it easier and relaxing because of the cool weather, while others found it difficult to breathe and adapt to the night time. Daniel Yegon, upon winning the full marathon says, "This is my second full marathon at the Bengaluru Midnight Marathon. I think the weather and the timing make it more relaxing and easier to run. I hope to keep participating in this wonderful event year after year."
Tim Tim Sharma, the 29-year old winner of 10k run-women shared, "I started running for fun but eventually you keep getting faster and faster and the goal also becomes to win a race."
Manoj Chandran, a 25-year old participant from the Indian Army shared, "The event is all about sportsmanship and bringing people together. I am participating for the first time and I would love to come here again the next year."
Marathons are not about medals, it's about attaining you personal goals. For 64-year-old barefoot runner, K. Manjunath, who is also an ex-journalist, running marathons helps him stay fit even at his age. On completing the ½ marathon in 1 hour 53 minutes, he said, "This is my 6th Midnight Marathon and every year it just gets better. It's well organized and I love the feeling of running at midnight. I have been running 5km everyday for the past 15 years and don't plan on stopping anytime soon."
The President, Rajeeb Roy further added that the funds raised over the last six editions of BMM were used to expand the scope of the club's activities to fund many more projects in the sphere of health, education, infrastructure, social welfare and rural enlistment with strong focus on Child Development and Women's Development.
RBITC Past President Mr. Viraf Sutaria said, "Conceptualised to celebrate the spirit of Bengaluru and its spirit of innovation, RBITC's Bengaluru Midnight Marathon has received tremendous recognition since its inception. BMM have seen the number of participants increasing year after year with over 10,000 people participating in the last edition. We believe that BMM will eventually become an embodiment of everything that stands for hope in each of us."
Chairman, SBI BMM 2013 Mr. Dipankar Khasnabish declared, "BMM embodies the spirit of the city like no other - young, vibrant, competitive yet collaborative. We are greatly pleased with the response we have received and take pride in the fact that Bangaloreans have shown us again that it is a great city with a big heart."
State Bank of India, Bangalore Circle, which is celebrating 30 years of the formation of Bangalore Circle at the Local Head Office (LHO), was the Title sponsor of the SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2013. Speaking on their association, Mr. Ashwini Mehra, Chief General Manager, Bangalore Circle shared, "We are proud to be associated with this event and to be in a position to support the various charitable activities of RBITC. SBI, as the largest bank in the country, has always maintained the tradition of keeping in mind the needs of the various sections of the society. We are very impressed by the charitable activities undertaken by the RBITC and have decided to give it our whole-hearted support and backing. By supporting one of the biggest and most awaited events of Bangalore, we are only taking this tradition forward."
The organizers are amazed by the growing participation every year. This year's theme was 'Bhaag Bengaluru Bhaag' with Shri. Milkha Singh as the brand ambassador and the funds collected would be shared with various organizations that work towards bettering the city. The crowd was kept pumped up by the DJ who played the numbers that got the athletes up on their feet and dancing.
The key partners associated with the SBI BMM 2013 include State Bank of India (SBI) as the Title Sponsor, Target Corporation as the 10K Run Sponsor, Schneider Electric as the IT City Fun Run Sponsor, Nambiar Builders as the Community Relay and CXO Power Mile Sponsor, Carewel as the Half Marathon Sponsor, Manipal Hospitals as the Medical Partner, FEVER 104 FM as the Radio Partner, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield as the Hospitality Partner, JBL by Harman as the Sound Partner, KTPO as the Venue Partner, Kingfisher as the Good Times Partner, Airbus as the Corporate Relay Partner, and Mahindra REVA as the Lead Car Partner.
The prizes to all the deserving winners were distributed as the crowd cheered them on. The event finally came to a close at 6.00 am with happy runners bidding adieu to each other and secretly telling themselves, "Next year, I'll do better".
Medals and certificates were given to all participants in all categories.
More on the race onhttp://www.midnightmarathon.in
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The winners of the various races are as follows:
Schneider IT City Fun Run:
Men's Category:
Women's Category:
Target 10k Run:
Men's Category (International):
Men's Category (Indian):
Women's Category:
Carewel Half Marathon:
Men's Category- Open:
Men's Category- Indian:
Women's Category- Indian:
Full Marathon:
Mens Category- Open
Full Marathon: (Mens Category- Indian)
Full Marathon (Womens Category- Open)
Full Marathon (Womens Category- Indian)
Corporate Relay:
State Bank of India - Winner
Community Relay: 8-14 years:
Community Relay: Open
Highlights:
About State Bank of India:
State Bank of India welcomes you to explore the world of premier banking in India. The bank is actively involved since 1973 in Community Services Banking. All our branches and administrative offices throughout the country sponsor and participate in large number of welfare activities and support social causes for the upliftment of the underprivileged. Our business is beyond banking because we touch the lives of people everywhere in many ways. For more information, visit http://www.sbi.co.in
Twitter - @BMM_in
Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/midnightmarathon.in
Primary Media Contact: Roopa Sri, [email protected], 91-80-25943103
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