Mumbai, Jan. 12: Move over Bollywood, step aside corporate czars, some of the top marathon runners of the world will be at the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.

Marine Drive, the sea promenades in Worli and Bandra as well as the high-profile parks in the city are chock-a-block with celebrities and sundry small screen and catwalk stars looking for their place in the sun at the mega event.

But the limelight is on 125 elite runners from 30 countries competing in The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth, a four-marathon relay.

The race, also dubbed the “World Cup of Marathons”, started in Nairobi in October 2005 and moved on to Singapore in December. After the Mumbai marathon on Sunday, the event’s fourth and final leg will be in Hong Kong on February 12.

The 2005/6 series has attracted 578 runners, twice the number that participated last year. This is the second year of the only international marathon relay.

With teams and individuals separated only by the tightest of margins after the first two legs, the Mumbai Marathon could decide how the largest prize pool in world athletics, US $1.575 million, will ultimately be shared.

The race will also help showcase some of the world’s best young running talents. Several, like Uganda’s Alex Malinga and South Africa’s Collin Khoza, have already arrived in Mumbai and can be seen training along the marathon route.

“I am definitely aiming to win the Mumbai Marathon this year. I have been training for this for the past year and I am as fit and confident as I have ever been,” said Khoza, 25, who finished fourth here last year.

The race starts and finishes at Azad Maidan, a memorial to Goa freedom fighter Tristao de Braganza Cunha. The course will lead to Hutatma Chowk, the site of many a protest, and also take the runners along the city’s coastline and Chowpatty before turning for the finishing line past landmarks such as the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the Taraporewalla Aquarium.

“I know the race and the conditions ? it is a tough race but I feel that I have a good chance at the winners’ position. Besides, I am running for a team this year and it would make a big difference to our overall standing if I can end with an excellent time in the Mumbai Marathon,” Khoza added.

Several Kenyan athletes are competing for the top individual prize of US $100,000. Kenya’s team challenge, however, ended after the withdrawal of team member Joyce Chepchumba.

The 2005/6 series also includes a new bonus pool of US $175,000 for the top three all-women teams.

For charities too, there’s money in the race. Each NGO will get Rs 1 lakh from the sponsors for getting a celebrity to run 7 km in the marathon that is likely to bring Mumbai to a standstill on Sunday.