"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." These words which came from the legendry triple Olympic gold medalist Emil Zatopek highlight the sheer joy of running a marathon. Marathon, also called the long distance race is usually run on roads. It started in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. Marathon is also one of the oldest events in the history of Olympics and was incorporated as early as the first Olympics in 1896.
Although it’s an Olympic sport, marathons in recent times have surmounted their purpose of being just a sport. More than five hundred marathons are run all around the world every year. While some are run for mere leisure, the maximum among them are run for a purpose. Whether it’s education, women’s rights, peace or against racism, marathons in recent times have conveyed strong messages to the public. On this juncture a question of paramount importance beckons. Should we not go for charity and donations to social service organizations and end up with it quickly rather than having a more elaborate and more time consuming exercise like marathon? The answer is of course a straight no for primarily two reasons. Firstly, while the chief exercise in both marathon and charity is the act of spreading social awareness, the methods of disseminating such awareness is very different. Charity is the form of awareness where you donate for a cause and are just done with it. On the other hand marathon leaves a much wider and longer impression. It shows a much deeper involvement, effort and concern for the cause. Secondly, it engages the general public in contributing to the cause. Everyone might not have the money and means to donate to charity. However everyone can run in a marathon and show their interest for a noble cause.
This year’s Indore Marathon’s theme is “Health”. Health is becoming one of the primary concerns for the millennia’s and today’s youth. Through Indore Marathon 2011 we want to emphasize the benefits of having a good health. It’s for a reason that health is also called wealth.