The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, for long touted as among the top ten marathons in the world, has been honoured by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) with the prestigious Gold Label for the year 2010. In 2009, the event was a Silver Label race. With this honour, the event joins the elite group of 12 other full marathons around the world which possess this label, the pinnacle of organisational excellence that all road race promoters aspire for.Also being awarded the IAAF Gold Label for 2010 is the Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore, which, along with the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon makes it three out of three for India, a rare honour for the country. No other country in Asia can boast of having three IAAF ‘Gold Label’ events, while India shares this honour with USA, which has three ‘Gold Label’ marathons, and is one behind UK, which boasts of four ‘Gold Label’ events, one among them a marathon.
3 Cheers for Procam!
While it is unique for one country to produce three ‘Gold Label’ events, it is indeed rare for one promoter, Procam International, the promoters of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the Sunfeast World 10K to successfully meet the high standards demanded by the IAAF for gold label events.
The Gold Label Criteria
The IAAF grading gives races gold, silver or bronze labels, but gold requires meeting tough criteria such as:
- A high number of world-class male and female athletes taking part.
- Strict course measurement and racing standards
- National television coverage along with global TV distribution.
- High standards of organisation for participants, media, etc.
- Strict anti-doping procedures
Other Gold Label Marathons
Besides the Mumbai event, only 12 full marathons throughout the world possess the ‘Gold Label, among them some of the longest run events like the Boston, Chicago and New York Marathons, the London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Paris Marathon, Beijing Marathon and the Seoul Marathon. What makes the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon’s achievement all the more special is that it has been in existence for just six years.
Sean Walllace-Jones, the IAAF’s Senior Manager for Road Running said, “I am delighted that for 2010 India will feature three IAAF Gold Label Road Races. This is a wonderful achievement for this great country and will no doubt contribute to the development of Road Running and the Sport of Athletics. The fact that this has been achieved in just six years is a huge tribute to the race promoters, Procam International.
This organisation has worked extremely hard, in co-operation with the Athletics Federation of India, to satisfy all of the demanding criteria required by the International Association of Athletics Federations for the awarding of the IAAF Gold Road Race Labels. The IAAF Gold Label signifies that races are of the highest standard, through their organisation and the level of elite competition, as such they are an inspiration to other races and a wonderful promotion of our sport.
Mass road races such as the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore take the sport of athletics onto the streets and contribute to the general health and well-being of the population as they attract thousands to run, often for the first time. In addition they are a major source of funds for charitable causes and aid their host cities’ finances as they attract hundreds or thousands of tourists to participate and discover the riches of India.
Source: Media release from Procam
