Participants run during the half marathon on Sunday. (PTI)

Aug. 26: Many students and professionals woke up early on a Sunday for a special cause — to run for unity.

About 3,000 people turned up for the Guwahati Half Marathon today, organised by students of IIT Guwahati as part of their annual techno-management festival Techniche. This is the fourth edition of the event and this year’s tagline was “Run to Show Your Unity Guwahati”.

Singer Angarag Mahanta, popularly known as Papon, flagged off the run from Sonaram School playground in Bharalumukh and ran for about a kilometre along with IIT students and others.

“This year we decided to adopt unity as our theme keeping in mind the recent disturbance in the region. This edition of the half-marathon is more than just a run; it is a symbol of Guwahati’s spirit. It seems that the sense of unity is slowly fading away. We believe that we must do everything to protect humanity’s biggest trait — unity. Too much of violence, spreading of negative messages by certain groups, and of course terrorism — all call for a mighty display of oneness,” A.B.R. Bharadwaj of the Techniche organising team said.

Organisers said about 5,000 people had registered for the event.

The Guwahati Half Marathon concluded at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium at Ulubari. The event was divided into four parts and representatives from IIT Guwahati, different colleges and public participated. Cash prize of Rs 3 lakh was up for grabs, apart from trophies and certificates.

“Through this marathon we tried to highlight the point that students and young people have a role to strengthen the bond of unity and help ensure that people in society remains united,” Bharadwaj said.

The participants, too, were excited about the marathon and many hoped that the initiative would drive home the message of peace and unity. “We want to tell the people from all spheres that we should be united and together we can maintain peace and overcome all hurdles of life,” Nikita Agarwal, a participant, said.

Nanda Raj Singh emerged the overall winner of the event.

The main fest will start from Thursday and continue till September 2.

Techniche will comprise events like Robotics, industrial conclaves, lecture series, different competitions, exhibitions, workshops besides entertainment events.