Adani Group flagged off the third edition of Adani Ahmedabad Marathon dedicated to highlight the bravery of Indian soldiers. The theme #run4oursoldiers is an initiative to show solidarity towards India’s heroic soldiers who have committed their lives to protect the nation.
For the third consecutive year, Adani Group salutes every soldiers and brought the entire nation together to applaud their courage through the marathon. Taking one step further, this year’s marathon will also feature a display of the military weapons for marathon runners and onlookers.
From its inception, the marathon has been one of the most popular and successful in the country. This year the participation has outnumbered the last two editions with a total of 14,000 registrations and a flood of 12,000 participants. This is also the first time that the marathon has received an accreditation of the Association of International Marathons (AIM) certification, a global accreditation. The race categories include full marathon, half marathon, 10km and 5 km run.
The dignitaries flagged of the prime category of 42 km race were Pranav Adani and Norrie Williamson. Whereas the 21 km was flagged off by Pranav Adani, Senior Management Arvind Mills and Senior Management Yes Bank. The 10 km was flagged of by Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM, Brigadier Vinod Bajiya, Karan Adani, Paridhi Adani, Sagar Adani, Pranav Adani and Namrata Adani. The 5 km was flagged off of by CM Vijay Rupani, Rajesh Adani and Brigadier Vinod Bajiya.
Given the theme, the marathon also sees participation from defence personnel every year. This year the marathon received around 1500 personnel from the defence establishment which includes soldiers from Air Force, Army, and Navy participated in the marathon. With this initiative the Adani Group will contribute a major portion of the proceeds towards the welfare of the Indian Armed Forces.
A well thought out initiative via this marathon is the concept of ‘Marathon Ploggers’, wherein this year 300 participants have voluntarily picked up waste along their route emphasizing on the contribution towards a healthy and clean environment. This initiative was conceptualized by Adani Foundation where the participants received the Swachhagraha certificate and the ‘Ploggers’ were rewarded with recognition and special gifts.
Talking about the marathon, Pranav Adani, Managing Director, Agro and Oil and Gas said, “We are pleased to witness about 12.000 participants at our third edition of Adani Ahmedabad Marathon. I want to thank everyone for the unprecedented love and warmth that has been given to Adani Ahmedabad Marathon 2019. It’s heartening that our humble efforts to infuse a healthy culture of running and supporting the Indian Armed Forces also contribute to nation’s vision of Fit India #Run4OurSoldiers”.
The Adani Ahmedabad Marathon has a ripple effect in promoting healthy living amongst citizens. This marathon for the third consecutive year has experienced an increase in the involvement of runners especially for the professional marathon runners. The vibrancy and enthusiasm received this year is reflective of the success that the marathon has had in its past editions as well.