New Delhi, Sep 28
Some take to sport simply for sheer pleasure of playing and some others strive to excel in a competitive world. The Suresh Kumar is seen as a star runner by the fans, but the defending champion of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in the elite category for Indian men says he runs only for the money.
"I run only for money," said Suresh, who is essentially a 1500-5000 metres runner.
The 21-year-old Varanasi athlete, who finished 11th in the 1500 metres in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games, is running in his only second half marathon Sunday.
"Actually, in track and field events your first-place finish will fetch you only Rs.10,000-15,000 as prize money while prize purse for the Delhi Half Marathon is Rs.200,000 so obviously we prefer to run in these events," Suresh told IANS.
Suresh's views were also echoed by Soji Mathew, who won the Mumbai Half Marathon in January, clocking 1:05.29. However, Mathew's best ever performance in Delhi has only been third in 2009.
"The prize money in Mumbai is Rs.100,000. Though the publicity is more in Mumbai the prize money here is better," said the 31-year-old from Alappuzha, Kerala.
Why don't they run a full marathon as the prize on offer is much more?
"We are not suited to that form of racing. We need to train much more for a full marathon. We know the prize money is more but it also takes a toll on the body. To recover from a 42km race we need at least a month while six days of rest is enough for a half Marathon," said Mathew.
The elite Indian athletes also have an added incentive as they can get a bonus of Rs.100,000 if they set a course record.
Source: http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a330839.html
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