Thousands take part in Run Kerala Run

Kerala ushered in the National Games season on Tuesday with ‘Run Kerala Run’ – a mass run held as a prelude to the Games at about 10,000 points in different parts of the state.

Cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar led the event with a brief run in Thiruvananthapuram. The run was also organised in other cities and towns including Kozhikode and Kochi where movie stars added glitter to the event.

Massive crowds thronged central areas of the capital city where the run was flagged off by Governor P Sathasivam near the State Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other ministers.

Tendulkar, who is goodwill ambassador for the 35th edition of the National Games – scheduled to be in different venues across Kerala from January 31 – later addressed a gathering at the Central Stadium here.

“Run Kerala Run is a fantastic initiative… I’m so happy to see this kind of response,” Tendulkar said. The former cricketer also urged the people of Kerala to extend similar support to the National Games.

The organisers pitched the event as the biggest mass run in the world in terms of participation with an expected turnout of 10 million. Government employees were allowed a break from office hours to participate in the run. Students from various schools also participated in the event.