The early Sunday morning biting cold failed to deter the students of St Joseph High School, who came out with a message about the need to check global warming.
Organised by the Chronic Foundation, Rotary Club Bengaluru, in association with the government, the ‘Pride Run’ witnessed the participation of children aged six-year to 60-year-old seniors, who called out for an immediate end to the use of fossil fuels to arrest climate change and embrace green energy.
The 10K, 5k and 2k competition drew a huge number of participants.
Energy Department Additional Chief Secretary Mahendra Jain, Rotary’s Samir Hariyani, Suresh Hari, Amar Narayan, Jayadeva Naydu and Ramesh Shivanna of the Chronic Foundation inaugurated the event.
More than 2,000 candidates with green shirts participated in the run.
The circuit of the run Kasturba Road, Chinnaswamy Stadium Road, Vidhana Soudha, high court, Cubbon Park, Kantheerava Stadium route was painted green.
Earlier, the participants danced during a warm-up session by members of Sarva Yoga. There was a traditional ‘Dollu Kunita’ performance, which drew huge appreciation.
Speaking after the event, Ramesh Shivanna said they want to take the number of participants to 5,000 next year.
Dikshith Devaiah, Deepta and Babu N emerged winners in 5k run. Anbu Kumar, Simta and Nandaraja Singh bagged the medals in 10k. Two international participants were also feted.
Chennai resident Babu, an employee of the forest department, has been associated with Bengaluru for decades. The 58-year-old runner participates in almost all marathons organised in the city.