While they now have over 4,000 members and are the largest running community in the city, it all started with three people chennai runners. “In 2006, three keen runners – Ram Viswanathan, Vidyuth Sreenivasan and myself – decided to get together Training. A few others including Shankarlal Patel and VPS (Vice President Senthil Kumar) soon joined us and soon we had about 20 employees.
From 3 people to 16 chapters, across cities!
“We started from Alwarpet and there were three routes, which we named for reference. I used to come from Crompet all the way to Alwarpet every day just to run. It was a waste of time and fuel, so we decided Start chapters in various areas. Currently, we have 16 chapters – Chromepet Cheetah, Pillar Paces, Ambattur Arimas, Nungambakkam Nitros and so on with about 300-500 people each. Come join us yourself,” Shankarlal said.
“We were stopped by the police once and they asked us why we were running
Harry said the city’s attitude toward running and runners has been very different from the group’s inception to now.
“At that time, no one was running on the road except us. We were even stopped by the police at 4am, questioning why we were gathering and running away. We used to have fuel belts with water bottles in them to stay hydrated. They would check those belts. There was little knowledge about running. Now, the same police officers support us and play an important role in developing the community,” he said.
“We don’t compete with each other”
“Every month, we host a run called the LSOM (Last Sunday of the Month) run. Within a year, we have four main runs – one on Women’s Day, an ORR run, an ECR run, and then Trail runs in the woods. During these runs all the chapter members run together and then there is our biggest run. chennai marathon”, said RC Badri, another member of the group, adding, “We will not compete with each other. The only goal is to help each other cross the finish line.
“The best part about running in a group is the momentum you get”
Talking about how anyone interested in running can become part of the group, Shankaral said: “They just need to contact the coordinator of their local chapter and we have shared their details on our website and social media There are no registration fees or membership fees involved. Members are not expected to make any contribution other than to show up and the energy of the group will carry them forward. It’s not mandatory. The best part of running in a team is the motivation you get.
chennai marathonIndia’s second largest
VPS, the event director of the upcoming Chennai Marathon on January 5, 2025, said: “We are now the second largest marathon in India after Mumbai Marathon. There will be more than 25,000 runners in this event participants.
