by Prashant Kapadia

Mumbai, October 25, 2018: The 8th edition of Indiabulls Home Loans Vasai Virar Mayor’s Marathon (IBVVMM) will see the introduction of a 5K Timed Run to attract new runners and provide them with an opportunity to participate in a National level running event. Supported by Indiabulls Home Loans and Cigna TTK, the IBVVMM will be held on December 9, 2018, at New Viva College in Virar. The event will also see the addition of an age category in the Women’s Full Marathon. These announcements were made by Shri Rupesh Jadhav, Mayor of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation at a press conference held at the Indiabulls Finance Center on Thursday.

IBVVMM is the only national-level running event in the country which is organized by a Municipal Corporation. Since its inception in 2011, the event has attracted the country’s leading professional long distance runners and now is also witnessing an increase in the number of amateur participants. The public-private partnership has ensured that it is one of the country’s very few sports events to offer the highest prize money – a fund worth Rs. 45 lakhs, rewarding both professional and amateur athletes in various age group categories. Additionally, a separate prize fund for participants from the Vasai-Virar belt has also been created to encourage the amateur runners from the region.

5K Timed Run: This year, the IBVVMM has introduced a new run for men and women, the 5K Timed Run in four age groups. The existing timed categories are – Full Marathon (42.195 Kms), Half Marathon (21.097Kms) and the 11 K Run. Additionally, Dhamaal Dhaav (4 Kms) is a non-timed fun run organised to create social awareness.

The Half Marathon and the 5 K Run will also include ‘The Indiabulls Home Loans Battlerun’ – an exclusive category for corporate runners and running groups. Men and women of any age can participate in all four categories. The IBVVMM will be run under the aegis of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), while the route has been measured and certified by the Association of International Marathons (AIMS).

“The Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation in tandem with sponsors and partners is committed to keep growing the Vasai Virar Mayor’s Marathon and continues to extend a warm welcome to athletes from all over the state as well as other parts of the country to come and participate in the Full Marathon for men and women, the Half Marathon for men and women and the 11K Run for men and women,” said the Hon’ble Mayor.

“The Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation is proud to be organising an event of this scale which attracts athletes from all over the country. The Corporation will make every effort to ensure a memorable running experience for each and every participant,” said the Additional Commissioner, Ramesh Manale, who also graced the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ashwini Hooda, DMD, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.said, “Our partnership with IBVVMM for the past two years has been extremely rewarding. This year, we have introduced a new category for 5km runners for the first time thus attracting new participants and scaling up the magnitude of IBVVMM.”

Sapna Desai, Head Marketing and Communications, Cigna TTK Health Insurance said, “At Cigna TTK we believe ‘Health hai toh Life hai’ and being part of the Vasai Virar Mayors Marathon is the perfect way for us to celebrate the sport and the Health and Wellness benefits that it brings to our community. Aimed at promoting an active and healthy lifestyle, the event reinforces and brings to life our mission to help the people we serve to improve health, well-being and sense of security while showcasing Cigna TTK’s deep commitment to healthy living, partnerships and communities.”

The race route will have adequate water and energy drink stations, besides cool sponge and orange stations. While there will be a medical base camp at the start/finish venue, there will be medical stations along the route besides doctors on motorbikes and ambulances at regular intervals.

The registration fee for the Full Marathon, the Half Marathon and the 11 Kms Run is Rs 750 plus taxes and Rs 700plus taxes for the 5K which is the lowest in the country for a National level event. The fee includes offering the timing chip, personalized running numbers, finisher’s medals, free race photographs and hot breakfast post-race. Registrations can be done through the event website www.ibvvmm.com.

Hosted by the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation and Kala Kreeda Vikas Mandal, the event is promoted by Aryanz Sports PR & Events. New Viva College will be the Venue Partner, Enerzal will be the Energy Drink Partner and Marketing Partner is Meraki Sport & Entertainment.