Countdown for the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K begins

Tata Steel Kolkata 25K will be flagged off on Dec 20 from the Red Road in Kolkata where runners, joggers and woggers will participate for a host of reason’s ranging from health and fitness, charity and to show their solidarity with Kolkata.

With more than 6500 registrations done so far, limited running spaces would be opened on a first come first served basis at the expo, starting the Dec 17 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. The 3-day expo will be conducted by Radio Mirchi.

The timed races; the 25K and 10K, where in every runner’s bib is embedded with a timing chip is 33% of all registrations received till date.

The others races at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25k, will be the Senior Citizens run (4km), the Champions with Disability (4 Km) and the Ananda run (5km approx) which will feature the ‘Jabong run in costume’ where the best creative costumes across groups, individuals and couples will stand to win prize money.   

Speaking at the press conference, Peeyush Gupta, Vice President Steel (Marketing & Sales), Tata Steel, said, "Tata Steel is delighted to once again bring to the people of Kolkata Eastern India's most popular and prestigious distance running event, the TSK25. The event is aimed at promoting health and fitness, even as it provides us with an opportunity to raise funds for various noble causes. This year, TSK25 has got bigger and will unlock an exciting new challenge to test the fitness and endurance of India's finest professional athletes, amateur runners and fitness enthusiasts".

The TSK 25K is the highest prize money race over this distance and the focus is exclusively on the Indian running talent, giving professional and amateur men and women from Kolkata and around the country a proven platform to showcase their talent.

With a total prize money of Rs 22,80,000, the fastest male and female runners in age category slabs also stand the chance to win prize money.

The run will witness elite Indian runners, including the Rio Olympic qualifiers O.P. Jaisha (current national marathon record holder), Lalita Babbar (current Indian national record holder in 3000 metres steeplechase and new record time holder in Half Marathon), Sudha Singh (Asian Games Gold Medalist in steeplechase event), O. Sanaton Singh, Elam Singh, among others.

Continuing with the ART for SPORT initiative, Wasim Kapoor, the renowned artist would lead 38 painters, one for each registered NGO at the event. The initiative will see artists painting live at the Start line, and would include Debashish Mullick Chowdhury, Anjan Bhattacharya, Sarffuddin Ahmed, Utpal Ghosh, Rintu Roy Chowdhury, Rajib Sur Roy, Pranab Roy, Vani Chawla, Shubla Varma and many other famous artists who would create their magic on canvas in support of various causes. The proceeds from the funds raised will go to the NGOs.

The ‘Radio Mirchi Get Active Health & Fitness Expo’ is organised and marketed by Radio Mirchi Activations.

Vivek Singh, Jt. Managing Director, Procam International said, “The kind of registration numbers we are looking at shows how deeply the people of Kolkata are involved and how close the run is to their heart. We are sure within the next few days we will see the remaining slots being filled up. We welcome and thank our runners and partners for supporting the event and helping it grow to this level.”