"Lack of response" from Athletics body for Mumbai Marathon

Mumbai: For the first time since its inception eight years ago, the USD 325,000 Standard Chartered

Mumbai Marathon will be run on January 16 without the blessings of the Athletics Federation of India. "They have been invited but there`s what I will call a lack of response. But the marathon has the gold label status from the IAAF (international athletics body)," said race director Hugh Jones at a media conference here today. The AFI has kept away from the event this year following a dispute over payment of capitation fee to it from race organisers Procam International. Jones, who is also the general secretary of the Association of International Marathon and Distance Running and a former winner of the London Marathon, will oversee Sunday`s gruelling race which has attracted a strong field that includes Kenya`s Delhi Commonwealth Games Champion and two-time winner John Kelei. The event`s technical delegate is Dave Cundy who is to officiate in Mumbai for the first time after having conducted the Delhi half marathon and Bangalore 10k events in the past. The men`s and women`s winners of the gruelling 42-km event would take home USD 36,000 each. Among the top Indians who would be taking part in the half marathon are Asian Games medal winners Kavita Raut, a 10,000m specialist, and steeplechaser Sudha Singh who picked up a gold in the Guangzhou Games in November, 2010. PTI