World record holder Beatrice Chebet to lead elite runners in the field

The inaugural edition of the SFC Global 10K run in Navi Mumbai will see participation by international and Indian elite runners, the event’s organizers said.

Kenyan running legend Beatrice Chebet will be among those participating in the event. The first edition of the race is scheduled to be held on February 16, 2025. The run is being organized in association with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which has promised support for the event.

Chebet’s participation in the race was announced by Sandeep Asolkar, CMD, SFC Environmental Technologies, the title sponsor of the event. Chebet, the current women’s 10,000m world record holder (28 minutes, 54.14 seconds), won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming only the third woman in history to win both these disciplines at the same Olympic Games.

The international elite athlete field for the race in Navi Mumbai is being put together by Elite Athlete Coordinator and Coach, Ian Ladbrooke, an official press release said.

The men’s elite field is likely to include Rodrigue Kwizera from Burundi, Birhanu Balew of Bahrain and Gemechu Dida of Ethiopia. Besides the 24 year-old Chebet, the women’s elite line-up may include Lilian Kasait of Kenya and Margaret Kipkemboi, also of Kenya. According to information available on the event website, prize money for international elite athletes, across both gender categories, ranges from 10,000 US dollars for the first-placed to 7500 dollars and 5000 dollars for those finishing second and third. The same for Indian elites is Rs 275,000, Rs 200,000 and Rs 150,000.

(Above is the link to a YouTube video of Beatrice Chebet winning the women’s 5000m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics)

It is understood that the race in Navi Mumbai will be along the township’s Palm Beach road, which connects Vashi to Belapur. A favourite with local runners for their long runs, this road has often featured in runners’ conversations as one stretch of tarmac in the Mumbai-Navi Mumbai region that got overlooked for a world class race of its own. In India, the best-known 10K as yet is the TCS 10K, which happens annually in Bengaluru. The long term vision for SFC Global 10K is to try and grow itself to a similar league, Bruno Goveas, Managing Partner, Aryanz Sports, part of the team organizing the event, said.

Speaking to this blog, Sandeep Asolkar, CMD, SFC Environmental Technologies, said that the company had gravitated towards being the title sponsor of the event for a basket of reasons. Although a medium sized outfit, SFC had over 22 runners in its fold, a few of them well-known in Navi Mumbai’s marathon running and training circles. Discussions around running were frequent at SFC and there had been the idea of doing something meaningful in that line. Further, having lived in Navi Mumbai for long, there was the urge to give something back to the township. A good quality event in running appeared relevant.

With runners themselves imagining the event and involved in arranging it, Sandeep believed that an event that was focused on runners would be possible. “ Our celebrities are the runners,” he said. It was decided to go ahead with a 10K race because the middle distances cut both ways – to the track and on to the road. It is a well known fact that many greats in long distance running cut their teeth first in the middle distances. Not to mention – the middle distances are a fantastic space by themselves. Sandeep said that his company’s commitment to the event is long-term and just as Beatrice Chebet was expected to headline the first edition, efforts would be made to keep bringing top athletes to Navi Mumbai for successive editions of the race.

Asked if the long-term vision was to position this 10K race in the same category as a TCS 10K, Sandeep said that he had no competition with any other race in mind. He said that for SFC, the best return on investment would be if the SFC Global 10K allowed people to see the best of international athletes in action, inspired more people to take up running and in the process, local talent, over time, rose to match those high levels of performance.

(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai)