Puri: Despite a foggy morning, over 4,000 people, including a large number of students and foreigners participated in the first edition of ‘Puri Mini Marathon’ held here, Thursday, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Dressed in eye-catching jerseys, running shoes and carrying a positive attitude, professional runners, amateurs, school students and senior citizens crossed the finish line with great pride and spirit. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Disaster Resilient Heritage’.
Odisha Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Tusharkanti Behera flagged off the marathon that began from the District Sports Complex at Talabania covering around 8-km route and culminated near the Beach Hotel Asiana Lagoon.
The race began at 7:30am and the runners ran through the stretch touching District Sports Complex at Talabania, Helipad Square, Shree Jagannath Stadium, Penthakata Square, Youth Hostel, Subhash Bose Square, Beach police station, Digabareni Square, Chaitanya Square and Light House on their way.
The mini marathon was organised by the district administration in association with Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Prize money to the tune of Rs 1.90 lakh was distributed to the winners in all three categories. Sources said half of the prize money was provided by the NDRF to the district administration.
The first prize carried cash reward of Rs 30,000, second prize Rs 20, 000, third prize Rs 10, 000, a trophy and certificate.
In male category, Mukund Banra secured the first position while Rashmi Ranjan Nayak and Sudhansu Nayak got second and third spots respectively.
Similarly, Samsad Ara Begum secured first position while Sandhya Murmu and Saima Smile Mohanty took second and third spots respectively in female category.
Among the winners, most of them are first-timers and their joy was palpable while the spirit was indomitable.
“I am so happy and lucky that I got the first prize as I have given my best today. This is the result of my regular practice which I do every morning,” said an elated Mukund, a local boy, who aspires to represent his state and country in Olympics.
The winners of the mini marathon were felicitated by the sports minister in presence of several dignitaries, district officials and other eminent civilian personalities.
The sports minister, who is also a native of Puri, said, “Puri has already made its mark in the tourism map of the world but organising such event will take the Pilgrim City to newer heights and make it as an ideal and a global city in future.”
Expressing his pleasure over the arrangements and smooth conduct of the event in a short span of time, Behera announced that from next year the Sports department will lend its helping hand and provide all kinds of support to make the annual mini marathon a bigger and better one.
Puri MLA Jayanta Sarangi lauded the initiative of the administration and encouraged the participants by saying “running is a good exercise to stay healthy and fit in today’s busy life.”
“We should work as a team when it comes to organising such events by forgetting our political affiliations and difference of opinions as ultimately our city’s image gets a boost globally,” the Puri MLA said, by adding he is always available to join and work for a noble cause.
NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi, Commandant 3rd Battalion Jacob Kispotta, A K Patnaik, Assistant Commandant, Surjit, Assistant Commandant and other officials were personally monitoring the event.
The Puri Mini Marathon is an annual event which will be held January 23 every year with a new theme and to provide a common platform to promote health and active lifestyles.
“We have decided to organise a mini marathon in Puri every year to bring people from Puri and beyond who are passionate about running, sports and a living healthy and active lifestyle. Besides, through this event, we would like to create awareness and instill a habit of preserving and protecting our invaluable heritage monuments from disasters,” said Puri District Magistrate-cum-Collector Balwant Singh.
Besides, the Collector urged everyone to come together and work as a team to make ‘Puri Mini Marathon’ a most sought-after international event in near future.
The administration has deployed over hundreds of officials including fire brigade personnel, police officers and medical officers for smooth conduct of the event.
As many as four platoons of police force were deployed at several points across the road with 80 home guards, nine ASIs, two inspectors, City DSP, DSP (Traffic) and Puri revenue inspectors.
The security arrangements were personally monitored by Puri SP Umashankar Dash in order to avoid any untoward incident during the course of the event.
Asian Athletics Championships bronze medallist and international athlete Purnima Hembram also graced the occasion and encouraged the participants.
At the end, the Puri Collector and NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi presented mementos to all the guests present on the stage by appreciating their gesture.
