NMDC Hyderabad Marathon to feature 184 tribal runners

As many as 184 runners, predominantly belonging to tribal communities, from Bastar and nearby areas in Chhattisgarh will be participating in the 15th NMDC Hyderabad Marathon on Sunday.

They are from remote areas, including Bailadila, Sukma, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur and Jagdalpur, and the marathon will be their first experience of competing in a large-scale city marathon. The contingent includes six women runners, NMDC said.

Many of them trained barefoot on village roads and the rugged hills around Bailadila, with limited access to proper running gear and organised sporting facilities.

On August 30, they will find themselves in a different setting — running alongside thousands of participants at one of India’s major city marathons, thanks to support of the public sector enterprise. It sponsored their training and provided running shoes, running kits and other essential equipment besides making arrangements for their accommodation and transportation.

Different batches of runners have been training since August 17, including youngsters practising on the hills around Kirandul and Bacheli. “They come from remote places and have been receiving training since August 17,” said Vivek, a trainer, adding the group has runners with varying levels of experience.

The Hyderabad Marathon is an opportunity to showcase and identify young sporting talent that has largely developed away from India’s mainstream sporting infrastructure, NMDC said in a release.

“Seeing young runners from the remote and tribal communities of Bastar competing on a major national platform is deeply encouraging,” CMD Amitava Mukherjee said.

NMDC Hyderabad Marathon Race Director Rajesh Vetcha said, “We hope the marathon gives them confidence, experience and, perhaps, the platform to discover their potential as athletes.”

The 184 runners will be part of a field of around 32,000 registered participants across the marathon’s various categories. A small group of runners with professional experience will participate in the full marathon, covering 42.2 km, and the half marathon, covering 21.1 km. Most of the 184 runners will participate in the 10-km run, while a 5-km run will also be held for starters.