The second edition of the Bengaluru Runners Jatre was recently held in the city on Sunday, June 11. The event witnessed participation from over 3000 runners on the streets of HSR, and about 53% of them were first-time participants. The run saw participation from people aged 4 to 94 years, who were spread out under the 10K, 5K, and Kids categories. The event was inaugurated at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium, which was the starting point for all categories.
The 10k and 5k runs were flagged off by Bommannahalli MLA Satish Reddy, and swimmer Nisha Millet, an Olympian and Arjuna awardee. The Kids’ category of the event was flagged off by Paralympian, Padma Shri, and Arjuna Awardee Dr Malathi Holla.
The top runners of the event made it back to the stadium as early as 6.15 am. ''We are trained athletes who are used to covering longer distances within shorter periods,'' said Saurabh Antil, winner of the 5k Express run. Various teams from organisations including Khelo India and Sports Authority of India were a part of the not-for-profit event.
The winners were announced shortly after the main events. Preenu Yadav and Puneet Yadav won the Express 10k in the women’s and men’s categories, respectively. In the Express 5k run, Priyanka C and Sourabh Antil bagged the first position.
Besides 53% debutant runners, the event saw a large number of accomplished amateur runners from the Bengaluru running fraternity, more than 33% female runners, and nearly 350+ kids. Dr Bhumika Patel from Guide Runners India facilitated 19 visually impaired runners along with their guide runners at the event.
The event also received support from public authorities like BBMP, Bangalore Traffic Police, City Police, Federation HSR, RWA HSR, and Citizens of HSR. The run was executed with the help of 50+ police cops, 35 security guards, 47 traffic wardens, and 400+ runner volunteers.