Marathon fever is high

The city’s student community is excited about the upcoming Airtel Hyderabad Marathon.

While participants and volunteers are getting ready to take part in the marathon, National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management has even included volunteering in the marathon as part of their curriculum.

More than a month ago, posts were put up on the social media pages of St. Mary’s College, Yousufguda, asking students to volunteer for the marathon. Ever since then, there is a buzz in the college, with the number of volunteers increasing each day.

And those who couldn’t participate last year, registered early this year. Arya Dev Singh, a third-year student, who will be taking part in the 10K run, says, “This is the first time I will be taking part in the marathon. Last year, I was late in registering so I was disappointed. But this year, my excitement is double. My friends and I are taking part in the marathon together. We go to KBR Park every morning at 5.30 and we have been trying to improve our timing. This year is even more special for us, because our director Mahender Reddy will also be running with us.”

But there are a few who have experience. Uday Kiran, for example, will be running the full marathon for the second time. He says, “This year we have a lot more support from the college. I run for over 7 kilometres every day.”

Talking about how he has learnt from last year, the second-year student says, “Last year, I didn’t have proper shoes. In fact, I bought good shoes earlier especially for the marathon. I had completed the full marathon in 3 hours 45 minutes last year. This year I’m aiming to complete it in two and a half hours.”

And the volunteers too are excited. Gayatri Ganesh, a second-year student says, “We will be guiding the people at the marathon. We also have a group, Waste Warriors, who will be cleaning up the entire area.”

Meanwhile for the students of University of Hyderabad, it is even more exciting as the route of the marathon includes their college. Just last week, the students were asked to volunteer and many are already excited. Abhijit Debnath, a PhD student and founder of the Sunday Climbers group, says, “We are expecting more than 150 volunteers. I had participated in the marathon last year but this time, I’m looking after the volunteering part.”