The Hyderabad Marathon is an annual calendar event that’s eagerly looked forward to by the running community, and this weekend will witness the ninth edition. On August 24, participants will gather for a fun 5K run and on August 25 runners will compete in three formats — 10K, half marathon (21.09 kilometres) and a full marathon (42.2 kilometres).
Around 27,000 runners have registered for the two-day event, reveals Murali Nannapaneni, president of Hyderabad Runners (HR): “We had to close the registrations more than a month ago due to the overwhelming response, to be able to look into the preparations.”
Murali Nannapaneni
It’s been a steady growth since the first edition of Hyderabad Marathon in 2011. “Back then, registrations were open until a day prior to the event. Since 2015, we decided to close registrations a few days in advance. Now we also have qualifiers for half and full marathons to discourage those who participate without proper training,” says Rajesh Vetcha, founder and former president of HR.
In nine years, the marathon has drawn thousands of runners into its fold, and the Hyderabad event is considered to be among the best runs in India. “A marathon of this scale is more than just running for fitness; it’s a social event. HR promotes an active lifestyle and in addition, I’ve seen members hang out together to socialise, partake in music or art events, anything that might be of common interest,” says Murali.
Murali states that while we haven’t reached a stage where runners are put on a waiting list to participate in the marathon, as in the case of Mumbai and other international marathons, the response is encouraging. “A marathon is also an opportunity to promote tourism. Around 30% of the participants this year are from other cities and countries,” he informs. It is well known that runners follow national and international marathon calendars and travel in groups to participate.
Hyderabad Runners began as a Google group in 2007, was registered as a society in October 2010, and organised the first Hyderabad Marathon in August 2011.
Rajesh Vetcha (in yellow)
Rajesh founded HR when he moved to Hyderabad and missed the running communities of Bengaluru and Delhi. He met a few like-minded people while running at the KBR Park and they began to run together each week. “Our first run in May 2007 had just five runners,” he remembers.
- If you want to begin running, look out for small groups of Hyderabad Runners who run together on different days of the week across the city — Gachibowli, Gandipet, Secunderabad, ICRISAT and other areas. “You will find our members in any locality and they follow a systematic running programme all round the year,” says Murali, who hopes that the running movement gains further momentum.
In February 2008, a month before the new international airport at Shamshabad was opened to the public, HR organised a run at the airport. “The prospect of a quick tour of the airport following the run drew around 200 people. Our membership also grew,” says Rajesh.
Today, HR has more than 17,000 active members and Rajesh says the community promotes the importance of leading a physically active lifestyle — running, yoga, zumba, cycling, swimming or taking up any sport. “Many people wait till there’s an alarm bell — until they are told by their physician that they have to exercise or face the pitfalls of a health condition like diabetes. We have become physically inactive as a population,” he laments.
Members of HR debunk the myths that running is bad for the knees, and that one cannot run after 40. At 49, Rajesh has often been asked if he started running, wanting to be a Milkha Singh. He laughs it off. Running is a way of life for him and fellow runners.
Operation clean-up
Around 3500 volunteers will support the runners, manage the refreshment stalls and do everything to ensure the smooth operation of the two-day event. Among them, around 400 volunteers will be in-charge of the waste management, spearheaded by the NGO, Earthlings.
Statistics from the previous year gives an idea of the waste generated. In 2018, around 370 volunteers helped the GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) with the disposal of 2600kg waste.
Along the marathon route, 22 water stalls enable runners to hydrate and refuel. Breakfast is provided in cardboard boxes.
Waste segregation begins at source, with runners being encouraged to throw their paper cups, tetra packs, plastic bottles if any, and food waste in separate bins.
Volunteers during Hyderabad Marathon 2018 clean-up drive
Sriram Arumilli of Earthlings, who has been associated with the waste management of Hyderabad Marathon since 2015, explains that volunteers will be spread across the marathon route carrying reusable bags to collect trash. At the end of the run, recyclable items are sent to GHMC-authorised recycling units. Non-recyclable waste is sent to landfills.
Says Sriram, “It wasn’t easy when we began in 2015, since a lot of people were not segregating waste. The awareness has grown and runners and supporters now throw paper, plastic and food waste into different bins. We do poster campaigns to promote segregation.”
Earthlings conducts clean-up drives, plantation drives and other environmental activities in the city.
