For faculty & students of IMT Hyderabad, running has become a life style.

Students and faculty of Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Hyderabad, not just participated in the Hyderabad Marathon 2016 but they ran together and completed the full marathon, half marathon and 10 KM runs, within the stipulated time limit. A total of 112 participants including, students and 13 faculty members of IMT Hyderabad ran in the 6^th edition of Marathon organised by The Hyderabad Runners Society and Bharti Airtel together with Telangana government. Prof. Nikhil Rastogi ran full 42 KMs, while Prof. Kalyan Chajerla ran half marathon and while rest of the faculties ran the 10 KM stretch.

For the future business leaders of ‘daudta’ IMT Hyderabad Campus, it was not just trivial participation for the sake of participation.  Training & preparation with all the seriousness went in for weeks and months. Starting from - improving stamina, physical endurance, core muscle strengthening, cardio capacity building with speed runs and HIITs (High Intensity Interval Training) to selecting the right kind of running shoes and gears, were all vital aspects of training and preparations. Everyone has his or her own purpose for running. While Shiddhant Joshi wanted to “push his limits” Aakash was inspired by 50 years old Milind Soman and his 76 year old mother who ran bare feet beside her son. 

Vaishnavi, batch 2015-17, who wasn’t much into physical activities earlier, ran the half marathon, preparing herself for the 21.5 km stretch by running inside the 30 acre lush green campus for the past few months. “The rigorous schedule which we have, can take a toll on our health and in order to avoid any life style disorders, we need to be fit. Either you include fitness regime in your schedule or be prepared to include sickness or illness in your schedule at some point of time,” she said.   

“Syncing the training regime in the already packed academic schedule and classes, was probably the tougher part for the students”, said Prof. Dr. Satish Ailawadi, Director IMT Hyderabad.

Adjusting to the schedule was in fact tough as Divakar from the 2016 -18 batch, for whom “running experience is cathartic”, had to wake up at 5 am. His day started with warming up in the treadmill and running 5 rounds in the campus, followed by gym and off course sticking to diet plans. “Getting an opportunity to run with fellow batch mates is a different feeling altogether”, said Kanan batch (2015-17) who ran the full marathon.

The Airtel Hyderabad Marathon which has now become synonymous with many things which are Hyderabadi is also considered to be the second biggest marathon in India after Mumbai Marathon, and one of the best-organised city runs in the world. The 2016 edition of this annual sporting event was on August 27 and 28 with 16,000 active participants. Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman unveiled the finishers' medals and ‘Corporate Trophy’, which was commissioned to encourage runners from large corporates and build awareness on promoting healthy lifestyles with running.

The volunteers from IMT Hyderabad were also present at the kiosk near the Gachibowli stadium to cheer and encourage the participants through ecstatic band performance and the IMT chants. According to Prof. Nitin Gupta, who was present with the volunteers, “The cheers and encouragement provided by the volunteers brought smiles on the exhausted faces of the participants and renewed their zest and enthusiasm”. Nearly 1,000 runners participated in 42 km full marathon flagged off by Additional Commissioner for Traffic Hyderabad Police. Mesfin B. won the men’s event after completing in 2.32 hours. Jyoti Gawate was the first woman to complete it in 2.59 hours. Pankaj Kumar, completed the half marathon in 1.10 hours while Amandeep finished the half marathon in 1.31 hours, in men and women’s category.