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The Big Balipu Mangalore Marathon, on April 10

The Big Balipu Mangalore Marathon, on April 10


Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, April 7, 2016: Mangalore has finally joined the running and fitness bandwagon that is slowly but surely gaining momentum across India. To encourage the running community of Mangalore, The Mangalore Round Table 115 is organising "The Marian Big Balipu Marathon" on Sunday, April 10th, 2016. The event will be organised in 3 categories - the 21 km, 10 km and 5 km categories.


 Mangalore Marathon 1

 

Marathon

 

Marathon


Balipu is a lovely tulu word that means "run". The Big Balipu hence literally translates to "The Big Run". The quirky name was coined by Srinivas PD - an alumni of NITK from 1996 who has now become a Managing Director in Citibank, London but continues to have his heart (and clever brain) attached to Mangalore. From the name to the idea, The Big Balipu has captured the imagination of runners and participants from Mangalore to Bangalore to Mumbai. There are even a couple of runners from Europe who happen to be visiting Mangalore over the weekend and have registered for the event. It is truly the start of "fitness tourism" in the city.


With official timing chips, certificates and medals for all the finishers, The Big Balipu brings organised running to a new level. Organisers have provided for umpteen water stations and energy drinks along the way for keeping runners hydrated and in good condition. Prof. Shameem Shaikh from MIT Manipal will be the official 2 hour pacer for the race and will help runners pace themselves to finish in under 2 hours. To ensure that every runner finishes before the heat kicks in, the 21 km race will start at 530 am, the 10 km race will start at 6 am and the 5 km race will start at 630 am with assembly and briefing 15 minutes before the run.

The glorious route starts at Tanirbavi and winds along the beach to the quaint Kasaba Bengere village. Participants get to see the ferry boats, private yachts and the ship building facilities along the route. Discover Mangalore and its wonderful coastal route including a stretch along the backwaters of the Gurupura river. With outstation runners from Mysore, Kerala, Bangalore, Chikmaglur and Mumbai having registered for the event, our city will enjoy a serious burst of ’running tourism". The youngest registered participant is 2.5 years old and the oldest registered participant is 73 years old among the 300+ participants registered until yesterday.

The Mangalore Round Table 115 has focussed on carrying out several development projects across the city of Mangalore. In the last 3 years alone, they have donated dialysis machines to the Wenlock hospital, built a public toilet at Pilikula Nisarg Dhama, donated clothes and books worth over 25 lakhs at various schools and orphanages across the city and supported various government schools by building toilet blocks and donating water purifiers. Kenneth Serrao, the current chairman of the Mangalore Round Table 115 has committed to use proceeds from The Big Balipu for another great cause.All money raised from the event will be used to help the Government School at Mallikatte and promote the Round Table India theme of "Freedom through Education".

Even more interestingly, the wonderful posters and promotional shots were shot by getting regular runners from Mangalore to volunteer and pose on Tanirbavi beach for the pictures taken by photographer Karthik - all for charity without charging a single rupee.

The Big Balipu is a truly unique run where all races - 5 km, 10 km and 21 km will end on the beautiful beach. Let’s all participate and make this an event to remember. Go to www.TheBigBalipu.com or Facebook.com/TheBigBalipu to register today. Enjoy The Big Balipu.


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Comments on this Article
Jayram, Mangalore Thu, April-7-2016, 11:18
Jogging is a good exercise but it has to be done eventually. By one day you will not gain anything . This is just a road show
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