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ICA of Sri Lanka announces first international half marathon in Colombo
The marathon is anticipated to attract over 1,400 athletes from various countries, including a substantial number from the Indian diaspora.
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Captain Anirban Banerjee. / Courtesy of ICA
The Indian Cultural Association (ICA) of Sri Lanka has announced its inaugural international half marathon in Colombo and it is scheduled to kick off on Sept. 1.
The marathon is anticipated to attract over 1,400 athletes from various countries, including a substantial number from the Indian diaspora. The primary focus of the event is to encourage participants to register as organ donors and aims to boost the organ donation rate.
“The worldwide rate of organ donation is merely 0.1 percent. We believe that the Indian diaspora is a huge strength that can contribute to this cause,” ICA’s president, Captain Anirban Banerjee told New India Abroad. “Although 1.3 billion people reside in India, 35 million people of Indian origin live abroad so we thought we could mobilize this huge population to join the campaign.”
The Indian-origin businessman emphasized that more than 100,000 people are on transplant waiting lists. Each donor has the potential to save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of 75 others.
In addition to promoting organ donation, the ICA has partnered with Sri Lanka’s education ministry to enable half marathon participants to plant the country’s national tree, the ‘Naa’ tree, on school campuses around Colombo, thereby enhancing their environmental impact. Each planted Na tree will have a signboard with the participant's name next to it.
“The ICA is a non-profit organization so the profit generated from the event will be donated to all the orphanages in Sri Lanka housing about 10,600 children,” Banerjee said. “We aim to build water treatment plants for each orphanage as the water has very high lead content in some parts of the country leading to kidney diseases,” he added.
Banerjee also hopes to restore tourism in Sri Lanka by encouraging marathon participants to travel around the country. “Sri Lanka was deemed the number one travel destination in the world in 2019 and we hope this initiative will allow tourism to bounce back,” he said.
Banerjee emphasized that the half marathon has been backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Indian High Commission in Colombo, and endorsed by Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The race categories for the marathon include a Half Marathon (21.0975 km), a Challengers Run (10 km), and a Family Run (5 km).
The top three finishers in both male and female categories will be awarded as follows: 1st place will receive $3,300, 2nd place will get $1,600, and 3rd place will earn nearly $700, along with various consolation prizes. All participants will also receive a medal and a certificate endorsed by supporting organizations.
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