Rashpal and Jyothi win Bengaluru Marathon 2015

Bengaluru, Oct 19: Rashpal Singh and Jyothi Gawate emerged triumphant in the Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon (Live To Run) 2015 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Sunday (October 18).

Bengalurians put on their running shoes on Sunday morning as 3 categories of marathons were started and culminated at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Full Marathon (42.195 kms), Half Marathon (21.1 kms) and 5K Hope Run had seen registrations of over 17,000.

Runners are set to start the marathon. Photo from event's Facebook page

Rashpal won the Full Marathon in men's section while Jyothi took the top honours in the women's category of the 42.195 kms run.

Rashpal, 29-year-old Havaldhar in the Army is based out of Hyderabad but originally from Amritsar. 2:21.14 is his best time sent in Allahabad in 2013.

"I fell down at the beginning because I could not see a road hump. Other than that I was happy with my performance. We moved into the lead by the 2km mark and held on to it, I took over the sole lead after the 38km mark. My next target is to do well at the Mumbai marathon," Rashpal said.

Women's section winner Jyoti said, "I finished 4th in Mumbai in January. In April, I won the Surat night marathon. In August, I won the Hyderabad marathon. Last year, I finished 3rd here; I was leading the race but there was that issue with the pilot vehicle. This time, I was confident of doing well. The start time of 4:40 AM was great for us. The route was also good, with no problems whatsoever."

Participants are seen at Sree Kanteerava Stadium

About the race, she said, "I went ahead at the beginning and led till the finish. I had done 2:50 in Mumbai, so I wanted to repeat that performance here, but I couldn't."

NEB Sports along with Runners For Life and various other running groups like Protons Running, BHUKMP, Pacemakers, Jayanagar Jaguars, Runners High and Catalyst Sports came together to organise this marathon that took the runners through important landmarks of the city.

"We believe this event will go a long way in further promoting running and encourage a fit and healthy lifestyle in the city of Bengaluru," the organisers said.

"Running in India has been growing by leaps and bounds over the years and Bengaluru is one of the cities leading this change. Bengaluru boasts of having the largest runners community in India and many Bengaluru runners across different age categories have been winning at the major marathon events in the country. Bengaluru has been referred to as the fitness capital of India," they added.