Utter chaos mars Pune Marathon

Utter chaos and mismanagement marred the 23rd Vodafone Pune International Marathon on Sunday, which saw the disqualification of as many as 15 athletes, most of them from abroad on grounds of “not following the official route”.

As many as 72 athletes from 12 countries participated in the 42.195 km marathon, which saw the participation of 558 athletes. Another 7600 people, mostly from the corporate, educational institutes and others participated in the 4.5 km AIDS charity run.

Kenya’s Nelson Kurwa Rotich completed the marathon in 2 hours 17 minutes and 45 seconds to grab the winning trophy and the prize money of Rs 3 lakh. In the women’s half-marathon (21km) category, Kenyan runner Caroline Chepponui Kilil clocked an hour 10 minutes and 17 seconds to emerge as the winner.