Nov 25, 2006, 11:25 GMT
Mumbai, Nov 25 (IANS) India's financial and entertainment capital Mumbai is gearing up for what is being billed as 'The Greatest Race on Earth'. Come Jan 21, 2007, and over 30,000 participants will vie for the $230,000 prize money at the Mumbai Marathon.
The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2007, in its fourth edition, will see 40 of the world's top 100 athletes in action. The event will be telecast live to over 80 countries.
Officially announcing the event Friday night, organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said: 'The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon will be a dream run both for the city of Mumbai and the precipitants.'
The race, which has claimed the title of Asia's largest marathon and is part of the 'Greatest Race on Earth', is a challenging relay race across the world's four most established and toughest marathon circuits of Nairobi-Singapore-Mumbai-Hong Kong with the largest prize pool in athletics in the world - $1.5 million to be won by the fastest team.
'Being part of the Greatest Run on Earth, the Mumbai marathon offers the biggest prize money of $230,000. It is definitely the best and the biggest race in Asia. The enthusiasm shown in Mumbai is not seen in any part of the world. It is undoubtedly the best of all international marathons in the region,' said Kalmadi.
The Mumbai Marathon prize fund of $230,000 is an increase of $20,000 over what was on offer last year.
The run will be flagged off from the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in south Mumbai, wind its way through the island city to finish at the Air India building at Nariman Point on the southern tip of Mumbai.
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service
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