When participants sweat it out on Bollywood numbers - Times of India

VADODARA: Chief minister Narendra Modi remained the centre of attraction for the runners who took part in Vadodara International Half Marathon on Sunday as most of them kept clicking his photographs instead of taking off from the starting point.

If you thought that runners just sweated it out during the marathon then you should have visited the venue. The participants danced to the tunes of latest numbers like ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ and ‘Munni Badnam Hui’ despite being exhausted after the race.

Vadodara Marathon (VM) authorities had tough time communicating with the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners as most of them didn’t understand English. Ignorant of India’s geography, some of the runners took taxi from Mumbai to the city leaving VM with a hefty transport bill of Rs 19,000.

Modi didn’t seem in his usual self during the marathon flag off as he hardly smiled at the crowd and even at the dignitaries on the stage. He gave a brief speech and left the venue without tasting some home-made food that was brought by marathon directors.

Those seeking for some hot ‘sev usal’ or ‘paunva’ on roadside stalls had a tough time as the cops had closed all the stalls on the marathon route to ensure smooth flow of the traffic.