Hyderabad, Aug 30 (IANS): About 14,000 people participated in the fifth Airtel Hyderabad Marathon on Sunday.

Runners across various age groups participated in the annual event. There were many who took part for experiencing the joy of running and spreading happiness.

Jayesh Ranjan, secretary, IT, government of Telangana, flagged off the 10km run at the Hitex Exhibition Centre, while additional commissioner of police Jitender flagged off the Full Marathon (42.195 km) and Half Marathon (21.095 km) at People's Plaza, Necklace Road, in the presence of Venkatesh Vijayraghavan, Chief Executive Officer, Bharti Airtel -- Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.

Jyoti Gawate and Bhanupratap Singh stood first in the full marathon under the elite Indian category and won a fully paid trip to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon sponsored by Shriram Life Insurance

"It is indeed truly inspiring to see such large number of sports loving people coming together not only to be part of this event but also promote healthy life style among people," race director Murali Nannapaneni said.

To mark the celebrated fifth edition of AHM and honour the incredible sporting spirit of the citizens, Shri Ram Life Insurance and Airtel have come forward with exciting prizes.

Encouraging the male and female runners of the Half-Marathon, Airtel announced two exciting prizes of a high-end smartphone powered by Airtel 4G to both the winners.

The event has witnessed the participation and support from government, corporates, NGOs, organisers and the general public.