By Jagpreet Sandhu ,Chandigarh, Febuary 12 : A spark of energy ran through the streets of the city on Sunday morning as women power turned out in large numbers to participate in the (Carmel ex Students Association )CESA Parabolic All Girls Mini Marathon.
Around 500 participants turned out from 15 schools and colleges across tricity along with open entries for the 7.4 km All Girls Mini Marathon. The participants competed under three categories of sub- junior (14 years & below), junior (15 to 18 years) and Senior (19 years and above)
The marathon was flagged off by Justice Ritu Bahri [an alumni of the school] from Carmel Convent School.
CESA, as an organization has always encouraged inclusiveness and women participation in all facets of life and had sponsored a group of 50 underprivileged girls from NGO “ Hamari Kaksha”, & The Remedial Classes of Carmel Convent School to participate in the event.
The prizes worth Rs 20.000 were awarded by Mr. Sameer Madan of the Parabolic Drugs Pvt Ltd to the winners. Addressing the youngsters he congratulated all the participants and lauded their efforts.
The overwhelming response from the city girls to participate just reiterated the idea behind giving girls an opportunity to showcase their talent and encourage sports amongst the citizens of the city.
The participants were also given refreshments at the end. Excellent arrangements by Chandigarh Traffic Police assured a smooth run for the participants. A team of base doctors by INSCOL and volunteers along with medical aid was provided for the participants throughout the running route with water points and marshals deputed at every 250 meters.
Some of the participants felt that running with girls was better than running in a co-ed race. According to them, there is also a lot of healthy competition.