The 16th Tata Mumbai Marathon took off amid much fanfare at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Sunday morning. While enthusiasm was at its peak among the young and old, the seven different races were flagged off by prominent personalities like Milind Soman, Mary Kom, Prasoon Joshi and Kartik Aryan.

Social workers, citizens and members of various organisations utilised the platform to spread words of wisdom and awareness about causes. Senior citizens called on the youth to remain fit. The marathon also sparked a competitive spirit among families. “This is my first experience running a marathon. My brother and I have been practising and I hoped to race ahead of him this time,” Shailesh Virani (67), a resident of Ghatkopar said.

As participants gathered at the start line, the buzz of hovering drones set out by the Mumbai Police to monitor security caught eyeballs instantly. But two participants dressed as Spiderman and Yamraj stole the show and people queued up to click selfies with them.

Anson Thomas (52), dressed as Spiderman was promoting protection of girls. “I run a social enterprise which has rescued many girls forced into prostitution. They refer to me as a superhero, so I decided to dress up like one,” he said.

Worli resident Prakash Nadar, dressed as Yamraj, was promoting blood and organ donation. “I came as Yamraj, as it is believed that our deaths are in his hands. We have no control over our bodies after we die. So, we must donate blood while alive and organs after we die so lives are saved,” he said.