Grand Stage set for SCMM 2015
Mumbai: Procam International announces readiness for 12th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon
Stage set for 40,485 participants
Procam International, promoters of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) 2015, today announced their preparedness to host the 12th of Asia’s Premier Marathon in the SCMM Media Centre at Marathi Patrakar Sangh.
Quaiser Khalid, Addl. Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Vivek Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International, Hugh Jones, Race Director, Dr. Nilesh Gautam, Medical Director and Venkat Karunakar, International Technical Official Starter announced the various measures and facilities put into place to facilitate the smooth conduct of the event and give the participants a satisfying running experience.
The Full Marathon for Amateur runners will be flagged off from outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) at 5.40 am, followed by the Full Marathon for the Elite foreign and Indian athletes at 7.20 am. Both these races will finish at CST.
For the second time in a row there will be a separate competitive event for corporates, called the DHL Corporate Champions, and a competitive event for the city’s police, termed the Police Cup. Both these will be relay races over the full marathon distance and will be flagged off at 5.55 am from CST.
The DHL Corporate Champions will see participation from over 80 teams, while the Police Cup will have 11 teams, each team comprising 4 members, who will each run approximately 10.5 kms. The winners of the Police Cup will be awarded a rotating trophy, besides merit certificates and medals to the members. They will be awarded cash prize of Rs 60,000. The runner-up team will be awarded merit certificates and medals, besides cash prize of Rs 40,000.
The Half Marathon will be flagged off from opposite Bandra Fire Station at 6.00 a.m. go on to the Sea Link, and trace the same route back as the Marathon to finish opposite CST.
The event for Champions with Disability will begin at 07.35 am from CST and finish near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan, opposite Metro Adlabs, and so will the Senior Citizens Run, beginning at CST at 8.00 am before finishing near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan. The Dream Run will begin at 9.00 am from CST and finish near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan.
The Senior Citizens’ Run will be flagged off by Tina Ambani, Bollywood personalities Aftab Shivdasani, Mahi Gill and Gulshan Grover.
The occasion was also used to announce the initiative instituted by Asian Heart Institute, the Medical Partner to the event for the past eleven years in succession. AHI has contributed state-of-the-art facilities and services for the marathoners, which will include:
400+ volunteers from AHI (including 200+ medical staff)
10 ambulances (each with a doctor & a nurse to ply on the entire route)
7 ‘mobile medics’ (doctors on motorbikes for the entire route)
12 aid stations all along the route
2 base camps (of 40 & 20 beds each)
With all this medical infrastructure in place, Asian Heart Institute can aptly handle any kind of medical emergency — injuries, dehydration, or any other complication arising due to long distance running.
Dr. Nilesh Gautam, Head of Department of Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation at the Asian Heart Institute adds, “Run only if you are trained properly and adequately for the race. Do not push yourself too hard. If you experience any chest discomfort, unusual shortness of breath, nausea or giddiness during the race, do not hesitate to seek medical help. We are there all along the route to help you run safely.”
According to Venkat Karunakar, the International Technical Official Starter, 100 officials from the Bombay City District Amateur Athletic Association (BCDAAA) will be posted at the start and finish of the full marathon and the half marathon and along the route to take care of the technical conduct of the event.
Elaborating on the arrangements on Race Day, Vivek Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International announced that a total of 1 lakh, 35 thousand liters of water would be distributed on race day through 27 water stations, while there would be eight Energy Drink Stations, 11 Cool Sponge Stations and 11 Orange Stations (providing slivers of Oranges and salt) to help the full marathoners and half marathoners remain hydrated during their runs.
There will be two ‘Cool Zones’ that will be created along the route on the return leg for the full marathon, which will also benefit the half marathoners – outside Wilson College and near Parsee Gymkhana.
The stage is set for the 12th Standard Charted Mumbai Marathon and Race Director Hugh Jones of the Asia’s premier marathon said there is a possibility of a new record time set by the athletes.
“It is slightly cooler this time and the weather is favourable for the athletes to put up a good performance. There is a possibility of the runners beating the previous record. It’s more of a tactical thing, and there are other reason too why it might not happen so one cannot be sure,” said Jones during a media briefing on Wednesday.
Talking about the event Jones said, “The running movement in India started with the Mumbai Marathon and we all have travelled a long road and it has been a rewarding experience.”
Vivek Singh, Jt MD, Procam International, while addressing the media, announced their preparedness to conduct the 12th edition in which over 40,000 runners are participating in the various competitive events. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have a played a crucial role in getting the roads ready for the event. “There is lot of work going on the roads and I am sure the corporation officials are out there to improve the road before the race day.”
Elaborating on the same, Jones, said, “The corporation is rapidly working and I’ m sure roads will be up to the standard by Sunday.”
Clarifying on the issues of the joggers treading on the path of the elite athletes , Jones said, “We cannot stop the joggers from crossing the road but the congestion is mainly at the start finish line as the numbers are huge, but once the race progresses, the numbers tend to spread out.”
Addl. Commissioner of Police, Traffic Quaiser Khalid sounded a note of caution but mentioned that the cops are prepared to conduct the marathon smoothly.
“Our emphasis is on a smooth and hindrance-free race so we have made all arrangements for proper flow of the traffic. Marathon will be run through all important areas of the city. A total of 110 intersections will have 30-40 pressure points.
“Roads to CST will be closed and parking will be cleared by night and only marathon vehicles will be allowed on the route.”
The occasion was used to announce the medical facilities instituted by the Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute (AHI), the Medical Partner to the event.
Dr. Nilesh Gautam, Head Preventive Cardiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation at the AHI, said this time we are more prepared and have adopted innovative approach to reduce casualties.
“We have upped the number of representatives from 360 to 485 this time to reduce the number of casualties during the event. We did a research and found out that during the final one mile people tend to get more exhausted. So, we will have spotters with binoculars to identify runners who are exhausted. Along with that, we have increased the number of beds at the two base camps.”
