Eastern India’s biggest road race is back in a bigger avatar.

The Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata, partnered by The Telegraph, will see over 20,500 people — top international and Indian athletes among them — at the starting blocks on Red Road on Sunday (December 15).

The organisers on Wednesday outlined the arrangements for the world’s first World Athletics Gold Label 25K race.

A Metro lowdown on the race that is credited to have ignited a running revolution in this part of the world:

Numbers

The ninth edition of the race will have 20,537 runners, the highest ever. The number was 17,557 in 2023.

The jump in numbers is in sync with the growing love for running in the city and much of eastern India.

Over 60 per cent of the total participants will run either 10km or 25km. In the first few editions, the percentage of runners in the 10km and 25km segments taken together would be less than 40 per cent.

More and more people are taking to serious running, the organisers said.

This year, 6,978 runners from outside Bengal will take part in the race, the most in recent years and a testament to the rising stature of the race.

The 10K Open segment, including the Police Cup, will see 7,950 runners; the 25K (including the elite runners and army contingent running for the Vijay Diwas celebrations) will see 4,765 runners; the 4.5km Ananda Run has 5,475 registrations; the Senior Citizens’ Run will have 1,957 runners and the Champions with Disability, 390 runners.

“All the segments have been oversubscribed this year,” said an official.

Timings

The 10K Open and Police Cup run will be flagged off at 5.30am. The 25K Elite race will start at 6.30am, followed by the 25K Amateur and Vijay Diwas runs at 6.32am.

The Senior Citizen’s Run and Champions with Disability will start at 8.20am and Ananda Run at 8.50am.

Route

The race will start from and end on Red Road. The course runs past some of the iconic landmarks of Calcutta.

The route passes through Kidderpore Road, Hastings crossing, Rani Rashmoni Avenue, Mayo Road, Chowringhee Road (JL Nehru Road), Park Street, Park Circus seven-point crossing, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, Gariahat flyover, Golpark, Southern Avenue, SP Mukherjee Road, Exide crossing, AJC Bose Road, Hastings crossing, Kidderpore Road, Lovers Lane, Hospital Road, Queensway, Casuarina Avenue and Kidderpore Road.

Some small changes have been introduced this year. The number of U-turns has been reduced, the organisers said. “The course has become faster this year. The weather is favourable. Expect new records,” said Hugh Jones, race director.

Police said vehicular restrictions on the roads will be announced closer to the date of the event.

Race-day arrangements

• Giant holding area at Rangers Ground
• Eight medical stations along the course
• Fourteen ambulances
• Ten medics on bikes

Charity

The race is making a difference to the lives of many.

The ninth edition has so far raised ₹24.9 lakh for charity, the organisers have said. Fundraising for this edition will continue till January 3 next year.

In total, 30 NGOs, individual fundraisers, eight corporates, alongside thousands of donors have come together to raise the money. Last year, the total amount raised for charity was around ₹19 lakh.

The platform has gathered support for a wide range of social causes such as education, healthcare, environment, livelihood, elderly care, gender rights and animal welfare. Since 2014, the platform has raised ₹4.39 crore for charity.

“There are so many organisations. We work in our own silos, we have our own efforts, agendas and have our own concerns. But here (in TSW 25K) it is about building a community. We have all come together,” said Debashish Ray Choudhari, CEO of Impact360 Foundation, the philanthropy partner of the race.

Rakesh Mitra, the chief financial officer at The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, is the top individual fundraiser. He is the great-grandson of K.C. Nag, the famous author of mathematics textbooks and educator. “Education is a priority, inspired by my great-grandfather. I believe in equal access for all,” Mitra said on Wednesday, joining a news conference virtually. The Tata Medical Center, Concern India Foundation and Human Development Centre are the top fundraising NGOs.

“The legacy of this event is its potential to make a difference and bring about a change in society. It is a humbling experience to witness so many citizens coming together for the greater good,” said Vivek Singh, joint managing director of Procam International, the organisers of the race.