2013 Wipro Chennai Marathon sees record turnout across categories

Ismail Ssenyange, the winner of the 2013 Wipro Chennai Marathon in the men’s category

The second edition of the Wipro Chennai Marathon on Sunday, December 2, saw a huge turnout from runners, as over 10,000 people took to the streets for the annual running affair in the city of Chennai. The first Sunday of every December has come to be associated with the Chennai Marathon the last few years and this year the turnout was even better.

Action started early with the marathon starting off a 5:00 am. And the runners did not allow a brief downpour to wet their spirits either as they managed to brave the rain and continue steadfastly on towards completing their races.

Apart from runners from the city itself as well as across India, the event saw many international runners competing from countries such as Uganda, Dubai, Algeria and Ethiopia.

Ismail Ssenyange of Uganda, the defending champion, took home the winner’s prize yet again the full marathon category as he finished the 42.2 kilometre stretch in a time of 2 hours and 32 minutes.

“The level of competition this year was tough. I am enjoying running marathons in Chennai and I will definitely be back next year,” said Ssenyange who was delighted that he managed to defend his title.

Getinet Chala Dessie from Ethiopia came in a close second while Murugan, a local boy from Chennai, came in third.

In the women’s section, Sudha Rani, a long distance runner from Tamil Nadu took home the winner’s cheque, completing the marathon in 3 hours and 37 minutes. Indresh Dhiraj finished second, while Kalpana Komal, a Chennai girl, currently residing in Bangalore, finished third.

The winners in both categories received a cash prize of Rs. 35,000 while the first and second runners-up received Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively. In addition, they received gifts from Adidas and Nathella jewellery.

The event also featured a half-marathon and a 10K run. The full marathon was flagged off by veteran runner Bosco, a member of the Chennai Runners team, the chief organizers behind the event while Ram Viswanathan, the founder of Chennai Runners, flagged off the half-marathon.

In a novel gesture, to get more people from the rural areas to participate in the event, the organizers had tied up with a local NGO in an effort to get runners from far-flung areas to the event that included sponsoring their commutation charges.

And the talents of these runners was on full display as in the women’s half-marathon, the top three finishers were all runners who made it as part of this program and what’s more, they were school students studying in class 10.

There were also a number of special runners who featured. A number of physically challenged persons were seen running, far greater numbers than previously seen. Organizers revealed that at least 14 blade runners, eight persons undergoing rehab after suffering serious spinal cord injuries and a group of visually impaired school students were amongst the 10,000 participants.

Blade runner Major Devender Pal Singh with another physically challenged runner at the 2013 Wipro Chennai Marathon

Major Devender Pal Singh, India’s first blade runner, was amongst those 14. Major Singh is a Kargil war hero who has taken up marathon running after losing one of his limbs in the battle of 1999. The Chennai Marathon was the 10th for the former Major, who took up running in 2009 with a prosthetic limb, 10 years after the war.

“Unlike a sprint, a marathon is like life – everyone cheers other people, they hold hands and help one another. Every time you reach the finish line, you feel like you have conquered your mind. There can be nothing more inspiring than that.”, said Major Singh summing up quite aptly the enduring spirit of running the marathon.