Tata Steel Kolkata 25K logo unveiled in Kolkata

The event, currently in its second year is scheduled for Dec 20, 2015, in Kolkata.

Peeyush Gupta, VP, Marketing and Sales, Tata Steel said the event was created to run for a cause.

“We are grateful to the West Bengal Government, West Bengal Athletic Association and to the other bodies for allowing us to host the event in the city of Kolkata,” Gupta said.

“We are happy that the people of Kolkata have accepted it with open arms. It is a run for a cause, not just to show one’s stamina,” he said.

Gupta urged people to come forward and run as he said, “Please do come forward. It’s an open platform where we can test ourselves.”

The event consists of five race categories.

‘25K Run’ for elite and amateurs. ‘Open 10 K Run’ for amateurs and ‘Ananda Run’, a 6 K event. The entry fees for the events are Rs 650, Rs 550 and Rs 300 respectively.

The other two events, Senior Citizen’s Run, a 4 K event and another 4 K event, Champions with Disability, have an entry fee of Rs 200.

Speaking on the importance of the event, Prasun Mukherjee, the VP of Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the President of West Bengal Athletic Association, said, “The whole idea is to bring people who normally do not run. They aren’t professional runners,” Mukherjee said while urging the organizers to invite professional runners, “But I’ll ask the organizers to invite professional runners, so people can look up to them.”

He also added, “The participation matters. A long distance runner should be able to avoid impediments.”

Half marathon is a relatively new event in Kolkata and is slowly catching up as organizers are witnessing a growth in the numbers.

Madhuri Bhosle, Station head of popular f m channel Radio Mirchi Kolkata said, “Radio Mirchi is proud to be a part of Kolkata 25 K. We are doing every bit to make running popular.”

(Reporting By Sudipto Maity)