Run Zola run
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COMMENTS 
The Mumbai International Marathon, scheduled for February 15, should not only be loads of fun, it will also generate funds for a number of charitable organisations
The sight of a silver S-Class Mercedes-Benz following business tycoon Anil Ambani on Mumbai's Marine Drive during the early hours of the morning comes as no surprise to people in this city. Mumbai is readying itself for the Mumbai International Marathon, to be flagged off on February 15, in which corporate executives, models, film personalities, students and professional runners will join hands to raise funds for a variety of causes. Venkat Krishnan, director of the Give India Foundation, the event's charity partner, has been inundated with inquiries. "My guess is that a minimum of 30 organisations will be able to share a total amount of Rs 50 lakh," he says happily.
A commercial entity, with sponsors and prize money for those who complete the 42 km Full Marathon in record time, the event has taken the cue from international marathons held in the US and the UK and incorporated a charity component. "Celebrities can help raise funds by participating in this run. We already have a record number of 12,000 people who want to run either the Full Marathon, the 21 km Half Marathon or the seven kilometre Dream Run, more than 1,000 of whom are paying for the run. The way it works is that every person who signs up to run for charity pays an amount of Rs 200, half of which goes to the event organisers. The other half is donated to the organisation the individual wants to support. Additionally, every runner can obtain financial pledges from his or her friends, colleagues and relatives. So far, we have had a group of 20 well-wishers donating an amount of Rs 1,190 and a corporate set-up committing a sum of up to Rs 20 lakh," says Venkat Krishnan.
Among the top shots to be seen in their shorts and sneakers on the day will be industrialist Anil Ambani, actors Rahul Bose, Jackie Shroff and Tara Sharma and chef Moshe Shek. Also, track legends like barefoot wonder Zola Budd, Kenyan Paul Tergat and US field legends Michael Johnson and Mike Powell who will undoubtedly attract the most attention.
For models and television anchors Pratichee Mohapatra, John Abraham and Mandira Bedi, the marathon will be an occasion to raise funds for the National Association for the Blind, an organisation that serves the cause of the visually challenged. Model Dino Morea and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar will be running for Dream A Dream, a Bangalore-based NGO that works with vulnerable children, including those with HIV. Former Mumbai sheriff Bakul Patel will lead a team running for Impact India Foundation that works for the rural disabled.
As an example of how the benefits will trickle down to help individuals is in the case of India 's first international marathon winner Savio D'Souza who ekes out a living from a garage in Mumbai. Savio has been waiting for a house that was promised to him by the government 18 years ago. For three consecutive years, from 1985 to 1987, Savio won the Mumbai Monsoon Marathon, an achievement that fetched him the Shiv Chhatrapati Award. The award entitled him to Rs 5,000 and a 750-square-foot house in the suburbs beyond Andheri. It took him three years to finally get his application sanctioned, in 1989, by Sharad Pawar, then chief minister of Maharashtra . Savio has since been running from pillar to post to get his house.
InfoChange News & Features, February 2004