Pune Half Marathon returns, to be held on December 22

Pune gets ready to celebrate its festival of wellness as the second edition of Pune Half Marathon returns on December 22. A target of 20,000 registrations has been set this year as the organisers hope to make this edition a bigger and better offering for the running enthusiasts.

The event primarily features four categories which include half marathon (21.1 km), 10 km run, 5 km, and 3 km (family and fun) run with cash prizes worth over Rs 21 lakh to be won across categories. It will only feature Indian runners with 162 prizes on offer.

Over 15,000 runners from 18 cities participated in the inaugural edition that was held in December 2018. One of the key features of the previous edition was the involvement of legendary long-distance running coach and multi-time Olympic medallist, Dr Jack Daniels. Daniels provided specialized training talks to the participants and also mentored the whole process contributing to the successful execution of the event. Accompanying him was Ryan Hall, the American long-distance running legend, who was also the brand ambassador of the event.

Pradeep Singh (1:06:08) and Manisha Salunkhe (1:22:20) won the 21.1 km-run in the Men's and Women's Category respectively last year. The 10 km-run was won by Pintu Kumar Yadav (0:31:42) and Shital Zamaji Bhagat (0:37:19) in overall men's and women's category respectively.

Speaking about the second edition of the Bajaj Allianz Pune Half Marathon, Chandramohan Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Bajaj Allianz said, "The initiative is a reflection of Bajaj Allianz's deep commitment towards promoting and enabling good health. We attempt to bring world-class and an inclusive marathon event that Punekars and Ind are proud of. We are confident that the initiative will further fuel the fitness drive across millions of Indian families."

Vikas Singh, the CEO of APG Running, the promoter of the event, said, "When we embarked on the journey, we expected good numbers due to the unique offerings, but to our surprise, we overachieved and went far beyond. We have committed ourselves to provide a top-class 'runner-friendly' event, and we are doing everything possible to exceed our commitments."

( With inputs from IANS )