The Hyderabad marathon marks the beginning of the season in India and is considered to be one of the toughest in the country due to the tough terrain.

Hyderabad: Runners are gearing up for the sixth edition of the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon, which will be held on August 27 and 28. The inaugural 5K run will take place on August 27 and the 10K, half marathon (21.1K) and full marathon (42.2K) will be held the next day. Like the last five editions, this year too the group Hyderabad Runners is organising the marathon along with its partners, including the Telangana state government.

Dr Murali Nannapaneni, race director of the marathon, said that since registrations started in June, around 8,000 people had signed up and in all around 16,000 runners were expected to participate.

There will be 3,500 volunteers to ensure that the event goes smoothly. The Hyderabad marathon marks the beginning of the season in India and is considered to be one of the toughest in the country due to the tough terrain.

Dr Nannapaneni said that this year Hyderabad Runners were also planning to bring in more star quotient into the marathon by inviting some of the country’s Olympic medal winners. He said that 34 per cent of runners who had participated in the Hyderabad Marathon last year were from other states and some had even come from abroad.

Stressing on this point, IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan said the marathon had not only made Hyderabad more happening but was beneficial economically for the tourism sector of the city.