Dream runners

What do Tarana, Bhaktiyar, Milind Soman, Salil Ankola and Madhuri Bhatia have in common? All of them have their heart in the right place. Every celeb worth a cause will be running for the Mumbai Marathon this Sunday. It’s that day of the year when you realise that Mumbai does have its share of real heroes. The Mumbai Marathon is expected to have over 30,000 participants in six different categories, which include the 42 km Full Run, 21 km Half Run, 7 km Dream Run, Corporate Challenge, Senior Citizens Race and the Race for the Physically Challenged. We caught up with some of our television heroes to find out what the event means to them and how they prepare for the Big day. Milind Soman: I’ve been running the Marathon since long. I support the cause of multiple sclerosis which I have been working for since 5 years. Being an athlete I don’t need to practice especially for the Marathon as I’ve been running since 30 years. I have been jogging every morning since quite some time now. Madhuri Bhatia: I’m running for Muktangana. This is the organisation that helps the underprivileged to get an education. They also prepare them for their careers. I don’t practice much as my health doesn’t permit me to do so. I run for a while and then walk. I’ll be participating in the 7 km run. Tarana Raja Kapoor: I am running for the Shraddha charitable trust. This trust works for the cause of special children who suffer from problems like dyslexia. I have been working with them for the last couple of years and I get to work for special kids. I remain connected and work for the organisation throughout the year. I have not practiced at all for the Marathon. I don’t think participating in the Marathon is anyways related to athletics and talking about myself I am not an athlete. Bakhtiyar Irani: I am running for CHIP which works for the cause of educating children. It was decided by my gang Boxy Boyz to run for this organisation. I am suffering from a knee-injury, so I would just be completing the run by doing the Dream run. I have been participating in the Marathon for the last two years. I have always been into sports. I have played cricket for railways and I am also a football player. I am the football captain of the Boxy Boys. I had run for the project Crayon last year and two years back Tanaz and I ran for Alert India which was for leprosy struck people and we collected a sum of Rs five lakhs. Salil Ankola: I am running for underprivileged children. Being a cricketer I have the physical strength to do a Marathon. More over I enjoy the experience of running and the cause attached to this