Former Indian quarter miler Paramjit Singh was today named as the City Captain by Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the IAAF Global Running Day, to be celebrated on June 6.
Paramjit, who represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was part of India's 4x400m relay team which won the silver medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, is one of the 24 prominent athletes from around the world selected to promote the IAAF's global initiative.
It is really a unique initiative from IAAF to bring people together like this from various backgrounds and different cultures from around the world. Running is the simplest activity one can adopt to stay active and fit. I congratulate IAAF for coming up with this concept where everyone is welcome to run together and celebrate the Global Running Day. I welcome everyone in Delhi to join us on June 6 and become a part of this unique event, said Paramjit, an officer with Central Reserve Police Force.
Promoted as Let's Outrun the Sun 1-mile run, the first of its kind 24-hours IAAF event will kick-start from Auckland, New Zealand coming Wednesday.
Sydney (Australia), Tokyo (Japan), Beijing (China) and Bangkok (Thailand) will follow Auckland one after other before this unique 1-mile relay finally reaches Delhi at 4:30pm.
The 24-cities, 24-hours, 24-1 mile races will conclude with Vancouver-leg in Canada.
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It is a matter of pride for AFI that Delhi has been chosen as one of the 24 cities from across the world to conduct this prestigious global event. We know it is very hot around this time in Delhi, but we have selected a route which is covered by trees on both sides and by 4:30pm it will be good enough to run 1-mile distance, CK Valson, AFI Secretary said.
The Delhi-leg will start from Raj Ghat, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, and will conclude near Shanti Van.
Running is accessible to everyone, it is fun, it is competitive, said IAAF President Sebastian Coe.
It can be social, it can be solitary. It is testing, it is personal but most of all it builds strength, stamina, fitness and health. It is the mother of all sports. On Wednesday 6 of June, we want as many people as possible to celebrate Global Running Day the biggest annual celebration of running.