Sachin Tendulkar felicitates winners of the 3rd IDBI Federal Life Insurance Spice Coast Marathon 2017
Kochi, 12th November 2017: Sleepy Willingdon Island area of Kochi woke up to an unusually exciting start. Over 5000 enthusiastic runners took to the streets to participate in the 3rd edition of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Spice Coast Marathon on Sunday. None other than Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar was present at the event to flag off all the races and cheer the runners.
Lead runners Sunil and Sangeeta Shetty ran the full & half marathons respectively; Joby Paul, Iron Man of Kerala was also present to cheer the runners. EP Parmeshwar, 101 year old man ran all of 8 km to become the oldest participant at the race. The Family run witnessed the highest participation with crowds chanting ‘Sachin, Sachin’ as the legendary cricketer flagged off the final race of the day. Lt. Col. Sundaresan R who is running for “RUN WITH A SOLDIER RUN FOR A SOLDIER”, was also seen at the marathon. He finished his 49th run today and with one last race he will accomplish his dream of running 50 marathons in 50 weeks.
Full marathon title was won by Rajesh Namboodiripad who completed the race in 3:15:28 sec. He faced tough competition from Mritunjay Kumar who finished the race in 3:15:58 while Rajesh Maheshwar was happy with a 3rd place podium finish by completing the race in 3:25:46 sec.
In women’s Full marathon category, Shailja Sridha won the race easily by finishing the marathon in 3:58:49 sec.
In the Half marathon, Soji Mathew won the men’s title by completing the marathon in 1:16:57 sec and Priya Gangadharan finished the run in1:39:07 sec in the women’s category.
Says Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, “Kerala and IDBI Federal Spice Coast Marathon have always remained special to us. In no time it has become a much sought-after race on the running calendar. With families and friends participating together for health and fitness, running together on a picturesque route, this marathon has its own unique flavour. I am confident it will continue to get bigger and better every year.”
Sachin Tendulkar, Face of the Event, IDBI Federal Life Insurance Spice Coast Marathon, “Kerala has always been special to me; my connection with this city goes beyond cricket. It’s heart-warming to see such a huge turnout across age groups and race categories for the IDBI Federal Spice Coast Marathon 2017 edition. This commitment towards health and fitness is exemplary. I am confident the city will continue to bat for good health and well-being in future as well and the participation will only keep increasing every year”.
List of winners across categories is as given below:
Male – Full Marathon (42.1Km): 1stPosition Rajesh Namboodiripad (3:15:28), 2nd position Mritunjay Kumar (3:15:58), 3rd position Raghesh Maheshwar (3:25:46)
Women – Full Marathon (42.1Km):Shailja Sridhar (3:58:49)
Male – Half Marathon (21.1km): Soji Mathew (01:16;57), 2nd position Nijin Ravichandran (01:23:59), 3rd position Mahesh Shanmugan (01:27:22)
Women – Half Marathon (21.1km): 1stPriya Gangadharan (01:39:07), 2ndposition Merina K (01:49:12), 3rdposition Asha NS (02:04:47)
