14,000 Wiproites put on running shoes for marathon

About 14,000 employees of Indian IT bellwether Wipro Ltd and their relatives and friends Sunday ran 5 km, 10 km and 21 km marathons in the electronics city on the outskirts of this tech hub.

Wipro chairman Azim Premji flagged off the event, which is simultaneously being held in 97 cities across the world to celebrate the global software major's true spirit of endurance.

Company customers, analysts and suppliers joined the event's eighth edition 'For the Long Run' that took off at dawn and ended by noon, criss-crossing the sprawling electronics city, about 20 km from the city centre.

"We believe planning for such an event is important and requires hard work, pro-activeness, foresight and endurance. Over 50,000 runners, took part," Wipro chief executive T.K. Kurien said.

Timing for the half marathon (10 km) was recorded, as it included running on the elevated highway adjoining the electronics city, where vehicular traffic was blocked during the event.

As the 24-hour event is being held across the globe, the company's employees posted in different cities will be on the run at any give time during the day.

"The run manifests our ethos of endurance, working together to create synergy, superior performance, fortitude and sustainability as well as giving back to the community," human resources vice-president Pratik Kumar said.

Proceeds from the event in cash and kind will be used for community initiatives by the company's social arm Wipro Cares. It will tie up with a non-government or charity organisation to support a cause relevant to the local community.

"Over the years, the run has built a tradition of getting people together and making them a part of causes relevant to the local community," Wipro Cares chief sustainability officer Anurag Behar said.