Before daybreak on Sunday, thousands are going to turn up on Red Road, the starting point of eastern India’s marquee road race, which turns 10 this year. The Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata, partnered by The Telegraph, has had more than 23,000 registrations this year, the highest ever. For hours on Sunday, Maidan will be teeming with amateurs, debutants, old, young, from near and far. A contingent of elite international and Indian athletes will compete for glory.
Metro gives a lowdown on the race
Course
The 25km course passes some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the Eden Gardens, Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Ghat and Fort William. The start and end points are on Red Road.
The runners will move through south Calcutta pockets like Alipore, Kalighat, Golpark and Southern Avenue.
Timing
- The 25K Elite race starts at 5.45am
- The 25K Amateur and the race for the Vijay Diwas Trophy, meant for runners in the armed forces, start at 5.49am
- The Open 10K and the race for the Police Cup start at 6.50am
- The Senior Citizens’ Run and the race for Champions with Disability (both 2.3km) start at 8.20am
- The 4.5km Ananda Run starts at 8.55am
Traffic
Red Road will be shut to all vehicles from 11pm on Saturday to 1pm on Sunday or till the race is over, said a traffic notification issued by the police. The following roads will be among those shut to traffic from 4am to 1pm or till the race is over — (stretches of) Mayo Road, Casuarina Avenue, Queens Way, Kidderpore Road, Lovers Lane, Hospital Road, Dufferin Road, Outram Road, St Georges Gate Road, Strand Road, Kings Way and (stretches of) AJC Bose Road. Several more tweaks will be in place on the roads in south Calcutta.
Watch out for
The race features top international and Indian long-distance runners. The international line-up includes Alphonce Felix Simbu (Tanzania); Agnes Keino (Kenya); Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda); Sutume Asefa Kebede (Ethiopia); Tebello Ramakonga (Lesotho) and Degitu Azimeraw (Ethiopia).
Gulveer Singh, Sawan Barwal, Sanjeevani Jadhav and Seema are among the acclaimed Indian runners who are going to be part of the Sunday race
Double Olympic silver medallist and World Championships gold and silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, one of the fastest men on the planet right now, is the international event ambassador of the race. On Sunday, he will be on Red Road to encourage runners.
Weather
Shallow fog is expected in the morning. As the day progresses, the sky will clear up, according to the Met forecast. The minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to be around 16 and 25 degrees, respectively.