To say that the marathon fever has gripped Coimbatore city would be an understatement. The more than 10,000 participants who ran the marathon knew that they were running for a cause.

“I’m from Mysore. I got a job in this city and moved here this May. I’m happy to participate and support the cause,” Keerti M said. The last day to register for the third edition of the Coimbatore Marathon was August 31.

Participants had three distances to choose from – the half marathon (21 km), the 10 km, or the five km run.

The marathon kits were handed over to the participants yesterday at during an expo at CODISSIA. The bag contained a t-shirt, bib, and a booklet that had information like schedule for the race day, race day check list, parking and traffic flow for race day, and the route map for the various categories.

All the three marathons were flagged off from the Nehru Stadium. Prior to the start, the emcee also doubled up as fitness trainer. He demonstrated to the runners a few stretch exercises for the warm up. These exercises were crafted keeping in mind the first-time runners.

“This is my first marathon,” Karthik VS said. “My grandmother died of throat cancer last year. I’m participating in the marathon in her memory.”

The mood was upbeat, the weather was friendly, and the runners, all charged-up. From a distance the crowd of runners looked like an ocean. The official marathon t-shirt was white. However, some were sported wearing blue-coloured t-shirts. Corporate houses like Elgi, Pricol, and Mahendra had also encouraged and sponsored their staff to participate in the marathon.

Also at the marathon was Swarna Latha, founder of Swarga Foundation that supports patients affected with Multiple Sclerosis and neuro-degenerative diseases.