Bajaj Electricals and Paryavaran Mitra RUN for the Environment at the
Mumbai Marathon.

John Hanc, Running Writer says “I’ve learned that finishing a marathon isn’t  just an athletic achievement. It’s a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible.”

On a chilly 2nd Sunday morning of Jan 2011, around 61 Bajaj Electricals Employees left their homes early in the morning…. some as early as 0530  hours, with just one mission in their mind. RUN!

It wasn’t as much a marathon event as it was a celebration…of spirit and of  life. Yes, on 16th January 2011, around 61 men and women together decided to run the Mumbai Marathon for the NGO Paryavaran Mitra.

Ascelebrities , sportsmen, physically challenged , housewives, students, corporate and the young and old gathered for the Mumbai Marathon, there was fun, excitement, frenzy in the early morning air for the 38,000 enthusiastic runners. This was the 2nd stint at participating in the biggest  Mumbai event. Six BEL employees ran the 21 km Ha l f Marathon. However for the 55 Dream Run BEL Team, the excitement was too hard to curtail.

Thewhole team 12 assembled at Azad Maidan. As they waited, they were given valuable tips on how to plan the ‘run’ and to avoid dehydration. Many  corporate houses were present in large numbers and they actively supported causes around the girl child, child abuse, environment, senior citizens and the physically and mentally challenged. Many runners turned up for the Dream Marathon dressed in creative cut outs of flowers and animals.

The gates of Azad Maidan were thrown open at 9.10 am to the Dream Runners. BEL employees ran in a group led by CMD Shekhar Bajaj, Mrs. Kiran Bajaj President, Paryavaran Mitra, ED Anant Bajaj and his wife Pooja Bajaj. Large placards and banners with the message of saving environment fighting against noise, air and land pollution were proudly carried by employees.

Some team members ran the marathon, while others walked diligently with the messages. The Route commenced at CST Terminus, moving on to Hutatma Chowk,
Trident Hotel, Marine Drive and finally ending at Metro near Azad Maidan. En route live bands played music to entertain the runners. Some veteran BEL runners completed the race between 35 and 50 minutes.  The rest who were comparatively new finished the 6km Dream Run in a span of one to one and a half hours.

Words cannot express the passion one felt while running and pushing one’s own boundaries to reach the final line. The participants minds echoed one thought: Next year, we shall return as a bigger and better team!

In the words of Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder: “The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. It has camaraderie. It has heroism. Every jogger can’t dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon.”