Preeja, Kavita to compete in Kolkata Marathon

Kolkata: India's top two long distance runners, Preeja Sridharan and Kavita Raut, will renew their rivalry in the 11-km event of the seventh edition of the Kolkata Marathon here on Sunday.

Army man Binning Lyngkhoi, who set the course record at 2:20.49s in the last edition, will look to do an encore in the 42.195 km main event which will also see his teammate Surender Singh, a long distance runner, and Kheta Ram in a field of about 300 runners.

As a matter of fact, only Indian runners compete in the Kolkata Marathon to give an exposure to the country's talents, Swapan Raha of the Athletic Coaches' Association of Bengal (ACAB) said.

The 11-km race which is named as Mini Marathon for men and women will see the largest field of 1,000 including the Asian Games gold medallist Preeja and Kavita who had settled for silver in the 10,000 m event at the Guangzhou 2010.

Preeja and Kavita also had a silver and bronze finish respectively in the 5,000 m event.

The marathon will be held in three other categories -- Fun Run or Walk, Corporate Run or Walk and School Run of 4.2 kms each.

The event carries a total prize purse of Rs 11.10 lakh including the winner's cheque of Rs 3.20 lakh in the main marathon and Rs 1.20 lakh in the mini marathon for the women's.

This year, Tata Medical Centre is the title sponsor of the event that seeks to raise support for the underprivileged cancer patients at their Rajarhat based hospital.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, East Bengal footballers, singer Usha Uthup along with artists from Bengali cinema will also participate in the fun race giving the marathon a celebrity touch.

The main marathon will kick off at 6 am while the other events will start at 7 am on Red Road.