Bangalore, was ignited on Saturday after the city gave a thunderous response to PUMA’s #IGNITEBANGALORE run. Bangaloreans of all ages thronged to the UB City mall as early as 5.30 am and showed that when it comes to running, they are ahead of every other city. The zest was palpable on each of the faces as they looked to create history by being part of this initiative by the German sportswear manufacturers.
Over 500 participants took part in this unique and quirky event. Part of PUMA’s global Ignite Your City campaign, #IGNITEBANGALORE is the first of the four stops in India. The event aims to engage runners and motivate people to run, ahead of the big race in their city.
Watch the highlights of #IGNITEBANGALORE here:
The route of the Bangalore stage took the participants through the iconic MG and Cubbon roads. While their agility, endurance and strength were put to the test through the obstacle course in the parking lot of UB City, right after the 5K run.
Even before the race, the runners, showed their excitement by assembling almost an hour before the scheduled 6:30 am flag off. The electric energy could be felt from afar as the eager contestants were raring to experience this distinctive run.
Indian national football team and Bengaluru FC striker, Robin Singh was overawed by the response of the crowd. He said, “IYC is a great initiative by Puma. Despite the race starting at sunrise, you can see the grand turn out here, which shows the people’s passion to the cause. You can actually feel the energy of these Bangaloreans assembled here. It’s brilliant to be a part of this.”
The event began at the amphitheatre, where the runners warmed up to some pumping music and a warm-up session led by Boston marathon finisher, Thomas Bobby Phillip, famously called Barefoot Bobby due to his advocacy of running without shoes. From there, the action moved to the starting point for the flag off, where Robin and Armaan were present to commence the race.
“At 5:30 am on a Saturday morning, there are so many people here. It’s a great turn out and brilliant to see so many runners here and so many people who are passionate about it,” Armaan Ebrahim, influencer of the event and India’s star racecar driver, said as he soaked in the atmosphere.
Around the 20-minute mark since the commencement of the race, the runners started trickling in after scaling the steps of victory. “The race was extremely enjoyable and I had immense pleasure running it. It is the first time I did obstacles after the 5k run and I am glad to be a part of this unique race organized by PUMA,” said Ramesh, one of the early finishers.
The obstacle course put the runners’ strength, agility and endurance to the test as they tried to navigate their way through a stretch of tyres and then move to the next floor which had a variation of the hurdles. In a stretch reminiscent of commando-like training, the participants had to crawl on the floor below the hurdles, propelling themselves forward by using their elbows and knees. In the final obstacle, steps of different sizes were placed and the runners had to jump over them to make their way to the finish line.
The enthusiasm of the participants was such that despite crossing the finishing line, they didn’t rest. And there was more in store for them!
For the first time in India, runners were given a chance to run in life-size hamster wheels! The energy generated by the runners on the wheel was converted to electricity through a dynamo, which then lit up the #IGNITEBANGALORE logo.
The participants had to run on the grand hamster wheels for 15 minutes to ensure that the logo was lit. The enthusiasm to the event was evident on all runners’ faces, as they took turns to keep the logo bright. It was a sight to behold.
All in all, #IGNITEBANGALORE was a unique combination of a 5K race and fun obstacles. A perfect Saturday out for the entire family. Armaan put everyone’s thoughts to words by saying, “The whole concept behind the Ignite Your City run is a fantastic idea by PUMA to get people up and going. Today, Bangalore was ignited. Look at everyone, they are having a great time. So, I think we achieved what all we set out to before the event.”
PUMA proved to be innovators with this event and the concept was very well received by the Bangalore crowd ahead of the big race in their city. The fun doesn’t end here, though, as the sporting giants have ensured that the fire lit in Bangalore does not extinguish. With its unique sustenance plan, PUMA will organize two races every month in the city around 6 areas they have identified as the city’s running pockets.
What’s more? The participants get to buy merchandise from the PUMA stores (the start and the finishing points of the runs) at a special discounted price. Moreover, breakfast, first aid, photos, and all sorts of social media push will be done by the Germany-based company. Keeping in mind the technical integration, each runner will be motivated during their run through PUMATrac, where they can also gauge their performance.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s keep the fire going, Bangalore!
