The Noyyal Half Marathon was held in Coimbatore on Sunday 29. Over 1000 participants from various walks of life and age groups participated in the event that kicked off at 5 am from Vivekam School at Saravanampatti.

A total prize money of Rs 350,000 was on offer, the winner of the 21km main event bagged Rs 50,000 while the winners in the 10km category for both men and women took home Rs 20,000 each. There were special categories for runners over 40 years of age and school goers runners too.

The event’s co-sponsor’s – Indian Ayurvedic Hospital offered Dasamoolarishtam an ancient performance boosting concoction to all participants free-of-cost and even designed a three-day athletic-performance boosting programme.

Apart from promoting a healthy lifestyle the Marathon aims at creating awareness about preserving water bodies too. The Noyyal river – a tributary of the Cauvery, after which the event is named, originates from the Vellingiri Hills in the Nilgiris and is one of the major water sources for Coimbatore and neighbouring districts.