An opportunity for fitness lovers to walk the talk

India’s biggest walkathon for a cause, according to the organisers, it will be held from December 13 to 15, 2019 in Mumbai and from February 7 to 9, 2020 in Bengaluru.

This year, the 100km and 50km trails in Maharashtra (Mumbai leg) will pass through the majestic Western Ghats (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Bhor Ghat in Karjat (located on the bank of River Ulhas), while in Karnataka (Bengaluru leg), the trail will start from the edge of a beautiful valley in the Nandi Hills, pass through more than 30 villages, from Sultanpet to Olde Bangalore Resort, with plantations of grapes, vegetables and flowers dotting the landscape. 

"It is incredible to see so many people come together to voluntarily walk for hours to support the cause of equality. It is difficult and challenging. There are millions of people who need support to beat poverty and I congratulate Oxfam for the wonderful work they are doing," said actor and fitness enthusiast Mandira Bedi while flagging off last year's Mumbai Trailwalker.

Yoga guru Natasha Noel, and actor-writer Harman Singha also walked to inspire the participants last year.

In previous years, actor Milind Soman and Oxfam Global Ambassador actor Rahul Bose have also flagged off the Oxfam Trailwalker and walked for the cause.

In 2018-2019, around 1,600 people from all across India walked 100km (or 50km) for an equal world.

Oxfam Trailwalker India is also the biggest team fundraising event in India, according to the organisers.

Last year, people raised over 5 crores to contribute towards Oxfam India's projects on education, health, gender, forest rights and discrimination in the six poorest states of India (Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh).

Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar, who walked the 100km event at the Mumbai edition last year, said, "We need fitness lovers to join our fight to end discrimination, to ensure that poor children, particularly girls, go to schools, to advocate for good quality and free government health services, and to provide support for families who have lost everything in floods and disasters. We believe that Trailwalker is an opportunity for those who care about the world, to make meaningful change."

The participating teams this year will have an ambitious target of breaking last year's fastest team Columbia HK's record of completing the 100km trail in 16 hours and 35 minutes.  

Oxfam India is organizing free-to-attend, open-to-all training sessions every month in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru for participants, employees of corporate partners and interested individuals to prepare them for the ultimate challenge.

Several participants from companies like Edelweiss, Tata Capital, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, L'Oréal have walked the Trailwalker.

Corporate teams from Accenture, UPS, Technicolor, Thomson Reuters, Danone, Aditya Birla, CLSA, Hindustan Petroleum and Hindalco participated in the event last year.

Oxfam Trailwalker is an environmentally sustainable event and does not harm the environment, said the organisers.

Oxfam India partners with organizations for waste management.

Rigorous impact assessments are done to ensure that the event is sustainable and the waste generated during the event is effectively managed, according to the organisation.

Over the years, Trailwalker has developed into an international fundraiser, challenging walkers in 17 cities across nine countries, including Australia, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Registrations for Oxfam Trailwalker India 2019-2020 have opened.

Walkers can register their teams of four for the Mumbai and Bengaluru edition of Trailwalker on the website https://trailwalker.oxfamindia.org.