Anoop Prakash of the Madras Regimental Centre, today won the 2016 Coimbatore Marathon, while R Vasanthamani won in the women’s category. Over 12,500 persons participated in the 21.1km marathon.

Anoop, hailing from Idukki in Kerala, finished in 1 hour and 5 minutes, while Vasanthamani crossed the finish line in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

The fourth edition of the Coimbatore Marathon, run for the cause of rehabilitating cancer patients, was loudly cheered by the crowd along the route, proving that it has grown bigger and better with each passing year, said Dr T Balaji, managing trustee of the Coimbatore Cancer Foundation, the organisers, who flagged of the marathon.

Commandant R Jayakumar of the Rapid Action Force 105 Battalion, flagged off the 10km run, in which over 4,000 runners participated. The 5km run, with over 7,500 plus runners, was flagged off by Coimbatore Corporation mayor Mr P Rajkumar.

The prize money for the main marathon was Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 for the first, second and third place winners, while for the top three places in the 10km category received Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000.