Bengaluru, KARNATKA :

Bengaluru :

Fitness enthusiasts in the city can add one more event to their workout calendar with JGI-Jain University announcing the launch of ‘My Country Run 2016’, which will see thousands of runners stream through the picturesque Cubbon Park as they compete in the 5k and 10k events on January 31.

The Sree Kanteerava stadium will be the hub of the activity as the races, which begin from 4pm, start and finish at the venue. “We have had an enthusiastic response so far as more than 3,000 people have already registered for the race. Though there are many road races in Bengaluru, we still need to do a lot more to get more and more people running,” race director Gul Mohammed Akbar  told TOI.

Akbar said the first prize of Rs 1 lakh has attracted many elite runners, including athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya.

“Some of them are staying back after competing in the Mumbai marathon,” he said. Athletes who have finished the 10k in less than 60 minutes will fall in the elite category.

JGI Group chairman Chenraj Roychand said the proceeds generated from the race will go towards supporting the 30-35 athletes from below-poverty-line families, which are being looked after by the Jain Group. The money will be used to give them foreign exposure. “After looking at the savings, the trust will put in an equal amount to create a corpus that will be used to help these kids,” he said.

Uthappa lauds Jain College Returning to his alma mater along with ace cueist Pankaj Advani as the brand ambassador of the race, star cricketer Robin Uthappa recalled how the institution helped him through his college days. “I was frantically looking to get an admission for a degree course when I got a call from Jain College, expressing their willingness to start even a new course. Shankar sir was very helpful throughout my college days and the college even conducted special classes for all the sportspersons.

Now they want me to complete my MBA and I’ve promised to do that. I can confidently tell that Jain College is the best any sportsperson can aspire for,” recalled Uthappa, in the presence of his fiancee and former tennis player Sheetal Goutam.

The marriage is scheduled on March 3.

Roychand, meanwhile, recalled how he helped Uthappa to get back his focus after he was on the verge of quitting cricket.

“Robin once called up and said he wanted to quit the game but I told him that he was born to play cricket and put him through a few meditation sessions. Eight days later, he was back with a bang, cracking 165 runs,” the JGI chairman said.

He said the college has supported not only cricket but other sports as well, involving more than 300 international sportspersons, which included seven Olympians. “I’ve told Gul to reach out to rural schools and identify talent who can be nurtured to become top-class athletes. If we put in the hard work for the next 10-15 years, we can get more gold medals at the Olympics,” Roychand added.

UV Shankar, Director of Sports, Jain University, said the race will be an annual event. “The idea is to get everyone (men, women and kids) on one platform.”

The total prize money is Rs 5.35 lakh with Rs 1 lakh for the winner of the elite race. The registration fee is Rs 1,000 (Rs 800 for students) for Open 10K and Rs 700 (Rs 600) for the 5k race.

For online registrations, log on to www.mycountry.run.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Biju Babu Cyriac, TNN / January 19th, 2016