How to organize a marathon?

How To Organize A Marathon? Learn From The Best.

Dr. Ramani Goa Marathon – Story of Dr. Ramani from a runner to a marathon organizer About Dr. P.S. Ramani Dr. P.S. Ramani is a Senior Consultant Neuro-spinal surgeon at Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He retired as Professor and Head, Department of Neuro and Spinal Surgery, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal (LTM) Medical College and Hospital University of Mumbai.

He dedicated the last 45 years of his life to the development of Spinal Surgery in India. His milestone contributions include setting up an up-to-date Neurosurgery Department at the LTM Hospital in Mumbai, and the first Bone Bank in the country.

POSITIONS HELD BY DR. RAMANI: 1. Founder and Past President, Neuro Spinal Surgeons’ Association of India; 2. Past Chairman World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies – Spine Committee; 3. Past Editor-in-Chief, Indian Edition of American Journal – Spine, 4. Founder and Past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spinal Surgery.

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS: 1. He has several breakthroughs in surgical techniques which have helped to minimize the perception of pain and suffering till then associated with neurosurgery.

2. He has published several textbooks in spinal surgery including Textbook of Spinal Surgery. His books for the common man such as Standing Tall (his autobiography), Stop Worrying about Backache, Doctors and Patients, Common Surgeries, Pain in Your Neck, Knowledge of Brain, etc. are read with extreme interest and received accolades and appreciations.

3. He has established School for Training Neuro and Orthopedic Surgeons in Spinal Surgery and has trained more than 4,000 surgeons in spinal surgery.

4. Neurosurgeons celebrate his birthday on 30th November as Neuro-spinal Day all over India and many other countries.

Though he is settled in Mumbai and has helped hundreds of poor patients in the city, he has initiated a wide range of activities in Goa, his birthplace. Dr. Ramani has held free medical camps in Goa for the last four decades and continues to do so. He has established Dr. P.S. Ramani Medical Foundation and Smt Ahilyabai Ramani Pratishthan. The purpose of the Pratishthan is to help the local people along with people from neighboring villages in Goa. He is passionate about jogging which he religiously adheres to. At the age of 81, he maintains good health and regularly runs marathons. At the age of 79 years, he was declared oldest runner in half marathon category in the Mumbai Marathon held on 15th January 2017.

Dr. Ramani Goa Marathon

“To achieve good health, walk, jog, run,� has been the motto of Dr. Ramani.

Therefore, he started an Annual Marathon event in the village of Wadi.

In the first year, a short distance of 10 Km was started. The enthusiasm of the participants was boundless. A 500-plus crowd gathered very early in the morning when it was pitch dark, to participate in the event. There was no registration fees. Furthermore, all the runners were provided with caps and Tshirts. Cash prizes were also distributed to the top runners.

Appreciating this enthusiasm, Dr. Ramani now holds an open race for half Marathon (21Km+). Around 1000 people participate in the event. There are

several smaller races like 10 km, 5 km Dream Run, Children’s marathon, Senior Citizens 3 km marathon (especially for inmates of Sneh Mandir of Goa Hindu Association) but the Half Marathon is most popular and draws the attention of Navy, Air Force, Fire Brigade, Police and Home guards and professional runners. Besides, even runners from foreign countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Europe, Asia, etc. participate in the event. To make it more professional, electronic chip timing machinery and number BIB has been introduced resulting in early registration and introduction of a token fee.

The prize distribution function in the past has been graced by Chief Ministers and Senior Ministers of Goa. The event has become a mind-boggling experience. Dr. Ramani himself runs the Half Marathon in good time.

Register for the 18th edition of Dr. Ramani Goa Marathon on 3rd November 2019.

Let’s hear in his own words on how did he organize this marathon for 18 years and motivate numerous people to take up running.

1. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START RUNNING AND WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO DO IT EVERY DAY? Everything in life needs a motivation to get one involved in any activity, and this immediately links one to goal setting. In today’s world, there is no other goal which is better than – maintaining good health, losing weight, reducing risk of heart problems, improving fitness and general well being, and lastly the enjoyment associated with the sport of running. With these goals in mind, I started running myself and started enjoying it. This was also linked to the fact that I used to walk 10 km up and down to school every day, it never made me feel tired as I had accepted the ordeal as a routine of life.

Every day, I find out I have worked more than yesterday! A disciplined lifestyle and my jogging and trekking escapades keep me healthy. If one’s determination is strong and is prepared to work with dedication one can conquer the mountain.

Never say die.

2. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE CONCEPT OF THE MARATHON AND WHAT SEPARATES YOUR EVENT FROM OTHER MARATHON EVENTS? Health (Mental and physical), keeping fit and energetic, and social rapport, are very important for anyone’s personal happiness. I promote marathons as I want the younger generation to move away from their technology and social media and get outdoors to engage in physical activity. One of the reasons I started Dr. P. S. Ramani Goa Marathon was to promote healthy living and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

This is not a commercial event but a social event meant to promote health and it is a part of the activity of Smt. Ahilyabai Ramani Pratishthan, an NGO based in Ponda, Goa, to promote several activities which are beneficial to the society.

The marathon is one such activity. Most other marathons are commercial events.

3. YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN ORGANIZING ONE OF THE BIGGEST RUNNING EVENTS IN GOA. ACCORDING TO YOU WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF ORGANIZING A MARATHON AND HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE SAME? The Goan society as a whole is not exposed to social organizational projects like a marathon on a big scale. It takes a lot of effort to make society understand

and cooperate. Most people are not convinced by the idea of jogging and running. Earlier, International runners pass in front of the local houses but the locals do not seem interested or encouraging.

However, with persistent and dedicated efforts, the attitude of people is now changing. What we have not succeeded in doing so far, is to stimulate people to come out of their house and cheer the runners as is normal in other countries.

4. YOUR MARATHON HAS CONSISTENTLY SEEN AN AMAZING TURNOUT OF 1000+ RUNNERS. HOW DO YOU MARKET YOUR MARATHONS AND WHAT IS THE KEY TO SUCH A GRAND SUCCESS? Dedicated, persistent and honest efforts to promote running is the important key to success. We also never leave any stone unturned and every year we go on improving and polishing the facilities to make life more comfortable to the runners. We also promote children to run in this event right from the age of two and that stimulates the parents and other siblings. It gets the ball rolling.

5. COULD YOU SHARE WITH US AS TO WHAT ALL OUTBOUND MARKETING ACTIVITIES AND DIGITAL MARKETING ACTIVITIES YOU HAD TAKEN TO PROMOTE THE MARATHON?

1. We tried to get as many contact numbers of runners and communicate with them on email.

2. Banners all over Goa. At the same time, billboards in Goa one month before the marathon.

3. FM radio in Goa. One month before the marathon in three languages: Konkani, English, and Hindi.

4. Holding two promo runs in two cities. The response is tremendous- over 500.

5. We write letters to all the colleges and schools inviting their participation.

6. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Push 7. Marathon Website 8. Information on Dr. Ramani’s personal website.

9. Listing the event in India Marathon Diary.

10.Holding press conferences and giving interviews to individual papers.

11.Holding talks on TV and radio.

6. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? DO YOU SEE YOUR EVENT REACHING OUT TO CITIES IN OTHER STATES AS WELL? It has already reached all over India and abroad. We get a lot of runners from Maharashtra and several runners from Chandigarh, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, etc. We had runners running in this marathon from Switzerland, France, Russia, South America, East African countries, Indonesia, and Egypt.

Future Plans: We have a proposition to start a full marathon soon. The organization of Antruz runners of Ponda is cooperating extremely well with our event so much so that this year, we have given them the responsibility for the complete organization of marathon.

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT MARATHONS OR MARATHON RUNNERS, THAT YOU’D LIKE TO CLEAR UP? Anyone irrespective of age or gender can participate in the event. One should always keep in mind that Fouza Singh in 2011 ran Canada full Marathon at his own speed at the age of 100 years. The misconception is that people feel they will get old with ruined knee joints. I advocate “If you run, you will not get old.”

8. WHAT WERE YOUR KEY GOALS WHEN YOU STARTED ORGANIZING THE MARATHON AND HOW MANY OF THEM YOU HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED? Key Goals: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Promote good health Strong mind Good physical body Distraction from unwanted social media

We are satisfied that the message is well taken by society and hope that they will inculcate this habit of running in their daily life.

9. AS AN AVID RUNNER AND A MARATHON ORGANIZER, WHAT’S THE MOST MEMORABLE MARATHON TRACK YOU HAVE RUN ON – AND WHY? I took part in the Amsterdam Marathon in 2012. It was memorable because it started and ended at the Olympic stadium. The grandeur of the stadium was exhilarating.

10. WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR FOCUS WHILE SELECTING A MARATHON ROUTE? A runner must enjoy the route. Our route which is selected very thoughtfully, runs through the city, villages, by the side of the river, into the fields, goes through a cluster of temples and importantly passes through palm trees. There is no flat land in Goa. The terrain is gentle upwards and downwards slopes. While it gives a kick to real marathoners, others find it slightly difficult.

11. WHAT ARE THE FEW THINGS THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOCUS ON TO ENSURE A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR RUNNERS WHILE ORGANIZING A MARATHON? 1. Entertainment to keep the runners in a jovial mood (We hire DJs, musical bands, fire show, dances, LED screen) 2. Cash prizes and prize distribution ceremony to motivate runners 3. Plenty of hydration points along with the route- water and energy drinks, fresh and dry fruits.

4. Goodies, light, napkin at the finish line and a very healthy and sumptuous breakfast post the race 5. Very good physiotherapy stations.

6. The traffic police guard the route to ensure runners’ safety 7. Other amenities like ample parking space and plenty of escorts/volunteers to assist the runners.

8. Liaison with a hospital, Medical teams and 2 emergency ambulances along the route and ground.

9. Credibility with Goa Athletic Association 10.Prompt individual timings.

12. DO YOU HAVE SOME TIPS FOR NEW ORGANIZERS ON HOW TO SEARCH AND SELECT THE BEST PACERS FOR GIVING THE BEST EXPERIENCE TO RUNNERS?

I am a member of the biggest running company in Mumbai- the striders. They have plenty of coaches and they know the selection of pacers. The new organizers must approach some major events and ask for coaches, talk to them and they will give a lot of information.

13. WHAT ADVICE WILL YOU LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS WHO ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO ORGANIZING A MARATHON? • • • • •

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Irrespective of your age, make running a passion.

Controlled contact with social media.

Habit to divert gradually to healthy food.

Drink plenty of water (at least 2 L per day).

Join a running group. It gives discipline not only to running but to life besides enjoying, making fun, and celebrating birthdays in a group early in the morning before going to college or office. It is a fantastic experience.

Please get up at least one hour early in the morning.

Thank you Ramani Sir, it was great to have you on Townscript.

This blog was originally published on: https://blog.townscript.com/organize-a-marathon/