Wipro Chennai Marathon

PREETI ZACHARIAH meets four newbie runners who are training to cross the finish line at The Wipro Chennai Marathon on December 7

There will be days when I don’t know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have. ~ Unknown

Four people. Four stories. Four very different dreams. All come together at the third edition of The Wipro Chennai Marathon (TWCM) to be held in the city on December 7 this year. The Chennai Runners, a group of running evangelists who have spearheaded this marathon, are training four newbie runners to run a 10k. The initial training has begun, now with 10 weeks more to go the training has been ramped up.

THE ROAD AHEAD(Left to right) Girija, Padmavathy, Mangalamba and Ravi KumarPhotos: R. Ragu

“This is in keeping with our theme for the marathon, ‘There is a runner in you’,” says V.P. Senthil Kumar — race director, TWCM 2014. “We want every single person out there to believe that they can run.”

The four people chosen hail from different backgrounds, the only commonality being that they have never run before but aspire to do so for myriad reasons.

“Running is a great enabler — almost anyone can do it. Everyone has access to it because you don’t need a gym membership or fancy gadgets. Statistics show that more people stick to running because it is so easily accessible and can be done anytime, anywhere. I hope that this will be a start of an exciting new journey for these four new runners and they will continue to run greater and longer distances,” says Krishna Kumar, president, Chennai Runners.

The Hindu MetroPlus , will chronicle the progress of these runners over the next 10 weeks documenting their successes, failures, disappointments and defining moments as the training for the 10k goes beyond the run and becomes a metaphor for life itself.

The Wipro Chennai Marathon is brought to you by the Chennai Runners powered by The Hindu.

H 24 Sep 14