Mumbai: The one reason that has contributed tremendously to the upswing of the worldwide status of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been the regular innovations and improvements that the event has undergone over the years. The latest embellishment to the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is the exclusive ‘Event Anthem’ that has been composed by Taufiq Qureshi and sung by popular singer Shaan. The lyrics of the anthem have been penned by Rachana Dixit.

The ‘Event Anthem’ was launched with a live performance by Shaan and Taufiq Qureshi at a power-packed function to launch the countdown to the eighth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, scheduled to be run in the city on January 16, 2011.

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Representing the city’s fathers on this proud occasion was Shri Chhagan Bhujbal, Minister PWD, Govt. of Maharashtra and Smt. Shailaja Girkar, Dy. Mayor, Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika, among others.

Highlights of 2011

Cathy Freeman to be Event Ambassador

Separate start for half marathon

A total of 38,400 runners registered for the event

Increased prize money of USD 325,000

IAAF Gold Label status to the event

Also present at the function, which was also the platform to showcase the special features of the event, was Sreeram Iyer, COO, Standard Chartered, the title sponsor, along with Yajuvindra Singh Bilkha, Head Corporate Affairs India, Tata Consultancy Services, the Associate Sponsor.

Sreeram Iyer, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered, said, “Every year, we have seen the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon become bigger and better. It is already the single largest fund raising event for charity in India. As always, we urge Mumbaikars to participate wholeheartedly and use the opportunity to test your abilities and to raise awareness for causes close to your hearts “.

“TCS has long been a supporter of athletic events at the international, national and local levels. We have been involved with the Mumbai marathon for four years and our participation has only intensified in that time. With over 1500 runners participating, we eagerly await the 2011 edition of Mumbai’s largest sporting event as it helps promoting wellness and health among our employees and also within the communities we operate in,” said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services. The occasion was also used to announce the name of legendary Australian 400m Olympics champion of 2000, Cathy Freeman as Event Ambassador for the eighth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.

Catherine Freeman’s association with the event is in line with Procam International’s efforts to bring to India some the world’s most accomplished sportsmen to help raise the profile of the sport of distance running. Some of the luminaries who have been event ambassadors in the past include names like Michael Johnson, Mike Powell, Linford Christie, Paul Tergat, Steve Ovett, Gail Devers, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dan O’Brien and Kapil Dev, to name a few.

Procam International also took the opportunity to acknowledge the recent performances of Kavita Raut at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and felicitate her for the same. Kavita has been an integral part of the Procam running family, having participated and achieved success in all the three distance running events conducted by Procam International. Kavita has been twice winner of the Half Marathon at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, in 2008 and 2009, has won the Delhi Half Marathon in 2008 and the World 10K in 2009. Procam International believes strongly the exposure gained from her participation against the world’s best talent in the above mentioned events has helped Kavita make the successful transition from a national athlete into a world beater.

The other two athletes who excelled at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and also are a part of the Procam running family are Preeja Sreedharan and Sudha Singh. While Preeja has had second placed finishes in the half marathon of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2008 and the World 10K 2009, Sudha has finished second and third at the World 10K and the Delhi Half Marathon, respectively, in 2008. Both these athletes were unable to attend the function due to prior commitments.

Welcoming new partners: An event of the scale of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon would not be possible without the critical contributions from the partners to the event, each of which fulfills a function critical to the success of the event. Procam International takes pleasure in welcoming two news partners to the family. OMRON will be the Health Equipment Partner to the event, while STAR ONE will be the new Channel Partner to the event, on which the event will be telecast live.

The event continues to enjoy the faith and support of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Association of Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), which has maintained the ‘Gold Label’ status of the event. This elite status, along with the enhanced prize purse of USD 325,000 has ensured that some of the biggest names from the world of marathon running will descend upon Mumbai, vying for a piece of the prize purse and a chance to rewrite marathon history. This year too, there will be a separate start for the half marathon, the event starting at Bandra and finishing at CST, a change necessitated by the need to avoid convergence of the runners in the two categories and give the full marathon participants a clear route from start to finish.

Since its inception in 2004, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been embraced by the city and its citizens as its very own, the sense of ownership and belonging strengthening over the years. In the eighth year the event was oversubscribed much before the last date and it is this commitment from the participants that propels promoters Procam International, backed by the powers that govern, to deliver an even better event on January 16, 2011.

The Full Marathon has received 2800 entries, while the Half Marathon a whopping 11,000. The Senior Citizens’ Run will have 1800 participants, while the Wheelchair Event 300, with 22,500 people registering for the Dream Run. The Half Marathon will begin at 6.15 am from Bandra at the MHADA ground and finish at CST, while the Full Marathon will begin at 7.40 am at CST and finish at CST.

The Wheelchair event begins at 7.55 am from CST and finishes at CST and so will the Senior Citizens Run, beginning at CST at 8.10 am before finishing near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan, opposite Metro Cinema. The Dream Run will begin at 9.10 am from CST and finish near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan, opposite Metro Cinema. Once again, the amateur Marathon runners will be allowed an early start of 6.15 am from CST.

Boost for charity drive: Another reason for the early date of registrations was to give all participants desirous of raising money for charity ample time to reach out to a wider circle of people and garner support for their drive. The response, backed by the efforts of the Official Charity Partner United Way, has been very encouraging and there are indications that the monies raised this year will increase the figure of Rs 9.16 crore generated in charity last year. According to the latest data received from United Way, 179 NGOs have registered themselves with the Charity Partner, a huge increase from last year’s figure of 109.

The number of companies that have come forward to support the charity drive through the Corporate Challenge has gone up to 134 from 102, fielding a total of 197 teams, a big jump from 160 teams last year, each team guaranteeing a minimum of Rs 2.25 lakh towards a cause of their choice.

The number of Dream Champions (individuals raising Rs. 10 lakhs and above in charity) has gone up from 4 to 10 this year, among them names like Anand Mahindra, Shobha De, Ravi Trehan, Rahul Kadri, Nisaba Godrej, Nyrika Crishna, S Sankara Raman, Shhyam Singhania, Mihir Doshi and Sadashiv Rao. Ten individuals have registered themselves as Dream Wizards (individuals raising between Rs. 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs in charity), among them names like Micky Mehta, Carlton Pereira, Ketan Gaikwad, Satish Balgi, Kalpana Maniar, Rajeshwari Kesavan, Archana Kochhar, Akash Mehta, Sheela Bhogilal and Meyyamai Ganesh.

There will be 59 Dream Makers (individuals raising between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 5 lakhs in charity), again a rise from 40 last year. Some of the better known Dream Makers are Vivek Oberoi, Tara Sharma, Sanjeev Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Abhijeet Sawant, Pankaj Bhujbal, Ritwik Bhattacharya, Mana Shetty and Rahul Mahajan, to name a few.

Enhanced prize money: Already the richest marathon in Asia, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2011 will now offer an enhanced prize purse of USD 325,000, an increase of USD 15,000 over what was on offer last year. It may be recalled here that last year too the prize money was enhanced by USD 60,000. The increase in prize money is in keeping with the stature of the event, tagged as amongst the top ten marathons in the world and hopes to attract an even more illustrious field of elite athletes. The elite men’s and women’s winners will now stand to win USD 36,000 as compared to USD 31,000 in 2009 and 35,000 in 2010. Special care has also been taken to increase the financial gratification for the Indian athletes. The Indian male and female full marathon winners will now take home USD 6500 as compared to USD 2500 in 2009 and 6000 in 2010.

Working towards a greener marathon: Procam International is committed to working towards a greener marathon and achieving a carbon neutral marathon in the next 3 years. Assisting Procam in this process is NextGen from Bangalore with their team of dedicated professionals.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has become the focal rallying point for the city of Mumbai because it showcases the best of what Mumbai can be. Promoters Procam International, along with the sponsors and partners, will never cease in their efforts to innovate and evolve in order to provide the ultimate running experience to the participant. It’s a collective task and in order to succeed needs the constructive support of all involved. Let’s all work towards making January 16, 2011 another Red Letter Day in Mumbai’s sporting history.