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The 2007
edition of the Kolkata Marathon which was held on 25th February saw
over 15,000 participants taking part thus making it the largest Marathon
in eastern India. A large number of the participants came from districts
and suburban
schools.
The whole of Red Road, which was the start / finish line, represented
a carnival like atmosphere with all participants wearing the sponsors
t shirts and colorful branding courtesy the respective sponsors.
Coming to the main event, the Main Marathon, Deep Chand Saharan from
the Army Institute, Pune came first with a time of 2::23:44 thus taking
home a whopping Rs 2.50 lacs (the highest prize money given to an Indian
athlete for any marathon held in India). In the Ladies Run (10.20 km)
Pampa Chanda from Debagram, Nadia finished first with a time of 43:48,
taking home Rs 65,000.
This year’s marathon saw a lot of Kolkata’s top celebrities
from the field of sports, entertainment and art adding a touch of glamour
to the event and showing support to their city.
To keep the crowd entertained during the races Bengali band Lakkhichhara,
enthralled those present for 45 minutes with their energetic and rhythmic
music.
A special thanks goes out to the sponsors of the 2007 Kolkata Marathon,
i.e. AIRTEL (Main Sponsor), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and
EXIDE, ITC Sunfeast (Refreshment Partner)), Selvel Advertising (Outdoor
Partner), Kinley (Water Partner) and Red FM (Radio Partner).
All this would not be possible without the active help, support and efforts
of the Kolkata Police, the Army authorities, and individuals like Mrs.
Prochy Mehta, the Chief Organizing Secretary, also an International athlete
of repute, the Athletic Coaches Association of Bengal, and Bengal Motor
Sports Club who determined the course and also provided professional
motorcycle marshals and guide cars, protecting the route for the competitors,
and also ambulances which carried Doctors, Paramedics, equipment, and
life saving drugs.
Last but not the least we would like to thank the participants who took
part in the marathon.
Looking forward to a bigger 2008 Kolkata Marathon.
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