The 4th Vasai-Virar Mayor's Marathon, a national-level event underwritten completely by the local municipal corporation with a total prize fund of Rs 20 lakh, is scheduled for November 2.
The event is recognised by the Athletics Federation of India.
Registration for the event, which offers Rs 2 lakh to the winner of the men's full marathon and half that amount to the men's and women's half marathon champions, would commence online as well as manually on September 8, it was announced at a media conference here today. Last date of registration is October 23.
Last year armyman Sanvroo Yadav upset seasoned national runners like Lyngkoi Bining to win the men's marathon while G Lakshmanan and Lalita Babar clinched the half marathons for men and women respectively.
Among women runners in the fray was Kavita Raut, silver medallist in the 10,000M in the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010, who stood second behind Lalita.
"This year we have decided to give away cash prizes to amateur runners too to encourage bigger participation. The entry fee is Rs 500 per head," said Bruno Goveas, whose firm is in charge of executing the event.
This year the organisers are planning to commence the event earlier than before. A request would be put forth to the Western Railway authorities to advance departure time of its special local train from Churchgate to Virar so that participants from Mumbai can reach the venue in time, said Vasai-Virar Mayor Narayan Mankar.
The event is being jointly organised by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and the Vasai Taluka Kala Krida Vikas Mandal.
