Bandra-Worli Sea link to be part of Mumbai Marathon route

Mumbai: Runners participating in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on January 17, 2010 will run on the

Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea link, which will be part of the 42.1 km course, organisers said here today. The seventh edition of the race which will have 14,500 runners taking part in full marathon and half marathon will offer USD 3,10,000 in prize money, an increase of USD 60,000 from last year. For the first time in seven years there will be a separate start for half marathon which will commence at Bandra and end at CST. The change has been necessitated by the need to avoid convergence of the runners of the two categories and give the participants of the full marathon a clear route from start to finish, the orgainsers said. The marathon has also been upgraded by the world athletics body, IAAF, to a gold level status, from the silver level status it enjoyed till last year. The full marathon has received 3,500 entries, while the half marathon has received 11,000. The senior citizens` run will have 1800 participants, wheel chair 150, and 22,000 have registered for the Dream Run, to raise money for charity. The winners of the full marathon in the men and women`s category will receive USD 35,000 and USD 31,000 respectively. The best Indian finisher in the men`s and women`s category will receive USD 6,000 each, as compared to USD 2,500 offered last year. PTI