Mumbai: Procam International, promoters of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012, announced its preparedness to present a bigger and better ninth edition of this unique event with the announcement of some changes and positive developments in a Meet & Greet Session at the Trident, Nariman Point, the Official Host Hotel, on Tuesday.

Present on the occasion along with Vivek B Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International, was Debal Datta, Head Brand Management, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered, the title sponsor and Yajuvindra Singh Bilkha, Head Corporate Affairs India, Tata Consultancy Services, the Associate Sponsor, along with representatives from other partners to the event.

“National Status” to the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, a change in the dates and venue of the Get Active Event Expo, revised start times for some of the races and the addition of key partners to strengthen the fabric of the event, were some of the significant announcements made. The name of global sporting icon, Vijay Amritraj was announced as the Event Ambassador to the 2012 edition of Asia’s Richest Marathon.

“Besides being the single largest fund raising event for charity in India, in its 9th year, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been given National Status by the Athletics Federation of India. This is indeed a very proud moment for us. The enthusiasm and participation of Mumbaikars has only been increasing year on year, and on January 15 we look forward to the seeing the city rise and run once again,” said Sumeet Singla, Regional Head, Corporate Affairs, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered.
N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS said, “TCS has an average age of 27 years and wellness is an important part of our corporate culture. We are eagerly looking forward to the Mumbai marathon, with over 1500 TCSers participating across various categories.

"We await an even bigger edition of the Mumbai marathon in 2012 and widespread participation from not only within TCS but also of the people in Mumbai and beyond," he added.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, one of the few full marathons from around the world to enjoy IAAF Gold Label Status, received another feather in its hat with the Athletics Federation of India granting it “National Status”.

“The Athletics Federation of India is pleased to inform you that the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been given National Status. The performance of athletes participating in this Marathon will be considered for selection and participation in international marathons, including the London Olympics 2012,” Shri M L Dogra, Director AFI has been quoted as saying in an official letter to Procam International. This status has been conveyed to all the affiliated state units and boards, ensuring the participation of all the leading Indian long distance athletes in Mumbai.

Taking a leaf from some of the major marathons around the world, and aimed at easing the pressures on the amateur runners coming in to collect their running numbers, it has been decided this year to hold the Event Expo one week earlier, from January 6 to 8, 2012, and the venue for the same will be the MMRDA grounds (adjacent to Asian Heart Institute) at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East). The Expo will be on between 11.00 am to 7.00 pm on all the three days and will also be the venue for all confirmed participants from Mumbai and its suburbs to come and collect their running numbers along with the goodie bags. Outstation runners can collect their running numbers and goodie bags on January 14 between 11.00 am and 7.00 pm at the World Trade Center, Cuffe Parade.

While the new dates constitute an entire weekend, giving participants the whole of Friday, Saturday and Sunday to come and collect their running numbers, the period of a week before Race Day also gives them ample time to study in detail the race day instructions, familiarize themselves with the security arrangements, the traffic restrictions, the road closures and other arrangements that will come into force for Race Day. The change in the venue for the Expo also makes it a more centralized venue for people from all parts of the city and its far flung suburbs to get to.

Procam International also announced the name of global sporting icon Vijay Amritraj as the Event Ambassador of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012. Amritraj, who has helped promote Procam International’s running events in Delhi and Bangalore, will be in Mumbai from Thursday, January 12 to promote the event, meet with the sponsors and partners, the elite athletes, encourage the amateur athletes and later on spread the message worldwide about the event and the running movement in the country.

Vijay Amritraj’s association with the event is in line with Procam International’s efforts to bring to India some the world’s most accomplished sportsmen to raise the profile of the sport of distance running. Some of the luminaries who have been event ambassadors in the past include names like Michael Johnson, Mike Powell, Linford Christie, Paul Tergat, Steve Ovett, Gail Devers, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dan O’Brien, Cathy Freeman and Kapil Dev, to name a few.

“I am delighted to be the Event Ambassador for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012. It is so vital, that besides the amazing competitive field there is also the average runner who participates for health and fitness, charity and also for self belief. This event has always been very much of an anticipated event every year and 2012 is no exception. I am honored to be a part of it and encourage everyone to be a participant in whatever way possible. My best wishes to the organisers, sponsors, runners, and most of all the city of Mumbai."

Welcoming new partners: An event of the scale of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon would not be possible without the critical contributions from the partners to the event, each of which fulfills a function critical to the success of the event. Procam International takes pleasure in welcoming four news partners to the family. TIMEX will be the Official Timing Partner to the event, while BMW will be the Official Car to the event. Gatorade will be the Official Sports Nutrition Partner, while Star Plus will be the Channel Partner.

Inspiring people to a healthy way of life and bringing the marathon enthusiasm straight to their living rooms, Star Plus will treat its viewers with a live telecast of the event. Besides reaching an impressive number of more than 300 million people, the Marathon will also be telecast in HD for the very first time on Indian television.  Star Plus HD offers Asli HD content that is shot in HD, recorded and edited in HD and mixed for 5.1 Dolby surround sound.

Star Plus GM Nitin Vaidya, said, “STAR Plus has always believed in giving back to the society. We believe that for a nation to progress it needs to be healthy and we want to promote this thought through the Marathon.”

The Possible Dream: The coffee table book on the “Story of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon”, authored by Anil Dharker, chronicling the incredible journey of the Mumbai Marathon over eight years, is available at the leading book stores in the country. With a foreword written by Anil Ambani and embellished with images that bring out innumerable stories, the book is priced at Rs 2,500/-

The book will also be on sale during the Get Active Expo at a special discount of ten per cent and is an excellent opportunity for participants to lay their hands on this collector’s item.

The event continues to enjoy the faith and support of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Association of Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), which has maintained the ‘Gold Label’ status of the event. This elite status, along with  the enhanced prize purse of USD 340,000 has ensured that some of the biggest names from the world of marathon running will descend upon Mumbai, vying for a piece of the prize purse and a chance to rewrite marathon history.

Since its inception in 2004, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been embraced by the city and its citizens as its very own, the sense of ownership and belonging strengthening over the years. In the ninth year the event was oversubscribed much before the last date and it is this commitment from the participants that propels promoters Procam International, backed by the powers that govern, to deliver an even better event on January 15, 2012.

The Full Marathon has received 2775 entries, while the Half Marathon a whopping 13,946. The Senior Citizens’ Run will have 1251 participants, while the Wheelchair Event 370, with 20,500 people registering for the Dream Run.

This year too, there will be a separate start for the half marathon, the event starting at Bandra and finishing at CST, a change necessitated by the need to avoid convergence of the runners in the two categories and give the full marathon participants a clear route from start to finish.

The Half Marathon will begin at 6.15 am from Bandra Reclamation and finish at CST, while the Full Marathon . will begin at 7.25 am at CST and finish at CST.

The Wheelchair event begins at 7.45 am from CST and finishes near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan, opposite Metro Cinema, and so will the Senior Citizens Run, beginning at CST at 8.00 am before finishing near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan. The Dream Run will begin at 9.00 am from CST and finish near Gate No. 3 of Azad Maidan. The amateur Marathon runners will be allowed an early start of 5.40 am from CST. This will help the amateur runners get more of running time in cooler climes. It will also help them register better times as they will be racing for prize money for the first time in nine years.

Enhanced prize money: The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012 retains its position as the richest marathon in Asia, offering an enhanced prize purse of USD 340,000, an increase of USD 15,000 over what was on offer last year. It may be recalled here that last year too the prize money was enhanced by USD 15,000. The increase in prize money is in keeping with the stature of the event, tagged as amongst the top ten marathons in the world and hopes to attract an even more illustrious field of elite athletes.

Special care has also been taken to increase the financial gratification for the Indian athletes and their separate prize fund for the full marathon stands at USD 52,000, an increase of USD 10,000 from last year. The top Indian male and female finishers will now stand to gain USD 7,500 each.

For the first time, there will be prize money for the winners in the open marathon, with the men and women winners taking home USD 1,000 and USD 750 and 500 at stake for the second and third placed finishers.

Working towards a greener marathon: Procam International is committed to working towards a greener marathon and achieving a carbon neutral marathon in the next few years. Assisting Procam in this process is NextGen from Bangalore with their team of dedicated professionals.

Some of the Green Initiatives undertaken by Procam International are as follows:

Complete Waste Management Program - This ensures all kind of waste generated during the expo and marathon gets collected, properly segregated and sent to recycling units.

Green Kiosk - To further expand the reach of the Green Initiatives and to reach out to people directly. SCMM puts up a Green kiosk where at each day of the three day expo an eco-friendly company displays its unique Green Products. A "Wish Tree" is kept at this kiosk which gains life through the Green 'Pledges' people take at the expo each year.

Online Advisory - DR. HULK, Green face of SCMM is available online to help out runners with their Green Queries. He gives tips and suggestions to turn ON the Green Button and measure personal carbon footprint.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has become the focal rallying point for the city of Mumbai, showcasing the best of what Mumbai can be. Promoters Procam International, along with the sponsors and partners, will never cease in their efforts to innovate and evolve in order to provide an excellent running experience to the participant. It’s a collective task and in order to succeed needs the constructive support of all involved.