A celebration of human spirit

Exciting run

The much-awaited Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10K Bangalore 2014 is right around the corner and the build-up to the May 18 event is clearly visible among the running community in the City.

Moreover, with the legendary Carl Lewis as the event ambassador coming down for the run, there are many lessons to be learnt. 

At a conference held at ITC Windsor recently, Vivek B Singh, joint managing director, Procam International, announced that the run has broken all records with 24,906 entries registered for the open category. Nagaraj Ijari, vice president, TCS, added, “The run is now in its seventh edition and has become bigger with every passing year. It’s a great way to increase one’s wellness levels and bring the community together.” One of the highlights of the run will be the participation of international runners like Moses Kipsiro, Lucy Kabuu, Linet Masai and Geoffrey Kipsong, which will make it an exciting race between road runners and track and field athletes. 

“I’ve seen Bangalore start with small athletic groups to the present trend of running clubs in every area and roping in some of the biggest athletes in the world. Being a track and field athlete myself, I can’t wait to watch the techniques of different runners. It’s also a chance for our national runners to meet their foreign counterparts,” expressed local athlete Reeth Abraham. 

Sundeep Juneja, vice president of DHL, spoke about the new ‘DHL Corporate Champions’ category that has been added to the existing ‘Open 10K run’ and Majja run. “In DHL, we believe that one has to be fit to lead and that’s why we wanted to not only celebrate the human spirit but also encourage team work. 78 teams of three members each have registered already. It’s compulsory to include one woman in each team and that’s a celebration of women diversity!” he said. 

The run, which is the largest charity sporting platform in Karnataka, will also include the ‘Champions with Disability run’ and ‘Senior Citizens’ run’. 

With 25,000 participants, health and safety is understandably of primary concern. The event’s medical director Vivek Jawali of Fortis Hospital, noted, “It’s nice to see the increasing number of runners in this event and we’ve seen that in the numbers who came for our screening package, which assesses how fit one is. We’re providing five ambulances and medical staff on bikes who will accompany the runners. There are also mini-hospital at the start and end points and two in the middle.” 

The run will be flagged off from Sree Kanteerava Stadium on May 18. For details, check tcsworld10k.procamrunning.in