CSS India Director Jairam KR Completes The Half Marathon
It has indeed been rightly said that “A Marathon Is More than Just a Race” and the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon too echoes this statement. The race is not just about crossing the finish line and winning thousands of dollars as prize money. It is in fact an event that is driven by passion and purity of purpose. The Mumbai Marathon is an annual international road running competition over the marathon distance that is held in Mumbai, India, each January.
15th February, 2004 is an important date in India’s distance running calendar. It marks the day when Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon made its debut, thereby catapulting India onto the world league of distance running events.
Celebrating a decade of distance running, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013 is among the elite class of full marathons to have been awarded the Gold Label Status by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It is a great celebration of spirit and fitness that underlines and showcases the passion zeal of the citizens of a city, and nowhere is it more visible than in the spirit of giving that accompanies all great city marathons. Today every major city in India has a city marathon but Mumbai stands above other cities in the largeness in its heart and the caring power of its society. Corporate entities and citizens compete amongst themselves by participating in this event for the upliftment of the under privileged.
As a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility and show of solidarity towards a great cause CSS India Director Jairam KR had participated in SCMM and successfully finished the Half Marathon (21.097 KM) in 2 hours and 36 minutes. It was a proud moment for CSS Group as they got real representation in this event.
For the SCMM 2013 the international event ambassador was Haile Gebrselassie, winner of two Olympic Gold Medals, four World Championship Gold medals, four World Indoor Championship Gold medals and has 27 World records to his credit. . The event ambassador was Bollywood actor John Abraham who has been the face of many brands and several causes. But few are as close to his heart as the Mumbai Marathon.
Marathons around the world have been known for their strong bonding with charitable causes. Key to the success of this partnership that seeks to raise funds for deserving causes is strong participation from the corporate sector. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has earned the distinction of being one of the most elite platforms in India for such causes. The SCMM is India’s single largest fundraiser and the runners rose more than Rs 17 Crore for charity, taking the total amount to Rs 80 crore since the marathon started way back in 2004.The SCMM has earned the distinction of being the most successful fund raising platform for charities in India and Celebrated a decade in distance running events. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013 got a record with 222 NGOs participation and around 40,000 people – from businessmen to actors, doctors to dabbawallas, VIPs to the plain enthusiast – turned out for the 10th Mumbai marathon, proving once again that it is one of the most glamorous and widely participated sporting events in the country.