Sachin Tendulkar to virtually flag off the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon on Independence Day

Mumbai, August 10, 2020: India’s greatest cricketing icon, Sachin Tendulkar will virtually flag off the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon to be held on Saturday, August 15, 2020. Packaged in a new concept to overcome the challenges posed by the unprecedented pandemic and to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day, the marathon will aim to make every Indian feel free while also instilling positivity in each of them during these trying times.

“Mental and physical fitness have always been important and is even more so today. It is wonderful to see enthusiastic runners registering for the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon. I wish them well, as they exercise precautions and follow lockdown instructions while running towards their fitness goals,”Sachin Tendulkar, the Brand Ambassador of IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said.

Organised by NEB Sports, over 6000 runners have already registered for the marathon across the four categories – Full Marathon (42.2k), Half Marathon (21.1k), 10k and 5k.

The runners, each running in his or her own respective city, across the world, will need to monitor their distances and timings on any of the available tracking apps and share the links or screenshots on the given platform link, to be eligible for certificates. To reinforce the spirit of nationalism, the full marathoners are requested to run in saffron colours, the half-marathoners in green, the 10k runners in white and the 5k ones in navy blue.

“While this pandemic has been a time of stress and anxiety, it has also brought about a lot of positives. We have seen that the fitness quotient of the country has definitely improved with people becoming more conscious of their fitness and health. Through our IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon, we want to spread the message of hope and encourage people to look to the future with positivity, optimism and confidence. ” Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO of IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said. “We have been introducing new concepts of running during Covid-19 such as our immensely successful ‘Run to the Moon’ initiative which raised over Rs. 19 lakh for coaches and sports support staff, and we are confident that India will participate in a big way in this novel marathon too,” he added.

Nagaraj Adiga, CMD of NEB Sports said, “It is greatly encouraging to see runners from across India and even from other countries enthusiastically participate in the virtual running events during this pandemic. After the success of Run to the Moon and Fourtnight Run, we now look forward to the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon to be held on Independence Day. Everyone enjoys participating in a monsoon marathon and we hope to see runners challenge themselves by meeting and exceeding their targets.”  

Anybody in the age group of 10 to 65 can take part in this marathon by registering onhttps://nebsports.in/future-fearless-marathon/ by paying a nominal fee of Rs 118, including GST. Registrations opened on July 15 and will close on August 12. Runners are advised to follow all the safety guidelines set down by the central and state governments and maintain social distancing while running.

As always, the marathon will aim to raise funds for various NGOs, including OSCAR Foundation (for children in low-income communities), Goonj (involved in various charitable activities for the rural poor) and GuideStar India (an online NGO information repository).  

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Notes to Editors:

Goonj

During  the COVID-19 pandemic, Goonj has been reaching out to daily wagers, migrants and other vulnerable groups (tea plantation workers, transgenders, sex workers, terminally ill patients) with access to basic consumables in 25 states/UTs of India over the last 3 months. Through its flagship initiative ‘Dignity For Work’ (formerly known as – ‘Cloth for Work’), Goonj is now encouraging the communities to work on their local issues. Goonj is now gradually extending to provide local livelihood opportunities to the affected communities, with an aim to stabilize the communities, through their initiative, Vaapsi (Restoring livelihood).

OSCAR Foundation

OSCAR Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to empowering children and youth in low-income communities in India. OSCAR uses football as a tool to deliver education and life skills sessions enabling children and youth to become role models in their communities.

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