Once a neighbourhood initiative, now an inspiration

The Dream Runners Half Marathon was an exhilarating sight at the Elliot’s Beach, especially on an overcast Sunday morning.

What started as a group of middle-aged persons who opted to run on the road instead of their treadmills, drew people from all walks of around 5.30 am.

Flagged off by TNPSC Chairman R Natraj,  the 21.1-km run had 150 runners participating, while the 10-km route was opted for by 260 people. Interestingly, the run had a six-year-old runner alongside  a 59-year-old lady. According to M Elangovan, Fitness Trainer of Dream Runners, “Most of the people were fit. But some first-time runners cramped up, but our team was ready at work to give them some stretching exercises and they hit the road again in no time.” Manivanna, one of the runners said, “This is a great marathon as it is organised by the runners themselves. I hope more young people take to running.”

Swaminathan from Dream Runners, also the CEO of Woodpecker Furniture said, “I hope more young people get inspired to run, they will soon see the benefits in their academic performance too.” Dinesh Victor  from Dream Runners recalled the group’s early days, “Those days, one of our friends used to send us an SMS alert every evening for the next day’s morning run. So, we used to wake up at 4.15 am and hit the track at 4.55 am and run till 6.30 am. This practice over the last four years has made us fit enough to participate in marathons in other cities too.” Swaminathan said, “This marathon was organised with the sole intent of inspiring people to take up running. This is our first marathon, we hope to do it annually from now on.”