The eighth edition of the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon will be held here on August 25 and 26.
"Over 23,000 runners will come together with a curtain raiser- 5K run on August 25 while the marathon will be held on August 26 wherein the 10K, half marathon (21.095 km) and full marathon (42.195 km) will take place",Abhijeet Madnurkar, Race Director Airtel Hyderabad Marathon,said after announcing the launch of the event here today.
The Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2018 edition is gearing up for a major announcement certification by AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races), he said,adding any certified AIMS marathon route allows runners to qualify for world major marathons.
Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao said the government was developing several lakes in the city which would have running and walking spaces around them.
He said a 26 km walking, running and cycling track would be developed around Gandipet lake, also called as Osman Sagar and also to make it weekend spot for Hyderabadis.
"Gandipet lake, a manmade lake, is going to complete 100 years in 2020. We have launched a very ambitious plan and will be unveiling in July by laying the foundation stone. And when the lake completes 100 years, a part of this marathon can also be hosted there in 2020, he said.
Asked about his promise to run in the marathon this year, he said this year the elections are apparently going to come ahead of time and hence he has to run for officeing "....possiblyI won't be running in the marathon but I will be running for office.
Lieutnant Commander Aishwarya Boddapti, a member of the all women naval crew which circumnavigated the globe on 'Tarini', said all that mattered was the spirit of running and that gender and religion doesn't matter to take part in the marathon.
On Aishwarya's father's statement in the media recently that he was expecting the Telangana government to recognise her (for her feat on June 2--Telangana Formation Day),Rao said "there are oversights. I will make sure that there is a course correction."
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