![](/wp-content/uploads/AMBA-logo-Acc-black.png"){kind=logo}
Runners from all walks of life came together on October 2, 2017 to participate in Udaan, a marathon organized by the students of Indian Institute of Management Indore. The marathon, which completes a decade this year, aimed to highlight an important social issue and increase awareness about it amongst the public. This year’s theme was ‘Run for Road Safety’ and saw around 3000 people participating.
Since 2006, India has witnessed more road deaths per year compared to any other country in the world. The total number of lives lost to road accidents is over 1,682 times more than that to terrorism. In 2015, 148,000 people were killed in road accidents according to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The marathon was flagged off by Mr. Vishal Singhal, the Udaan Race Director, and representatives from IOCL. Participants had the choice to run on 3 different routes: the 3 km Dream Run conducted in IIM Indore, the 11 km Endurance Run and the 21 km Half Marathon. The last two runs started at Dussehra Maidan Park and finished at IIM Indore. Runners were also divided into categories like Corporate, General, Military and Veteran. The prize distribution ceremony of the event was graced by Professor Kamal K Jain, Dean (Academic), IIM Indore.
Udaan 2017 was a run to create awareness and spread the word about the importance of taking road safety rules more seriously in order to create a safer environment for not only ourselves but for everyone around us too. It is to make us all understand the deadly consequences of one careless mistake on the road. ‘It is time we realize that every single one of us has a role to play in making our roads and our country safer,’ said Udaan 2017 media coordinator Mathan Kumar V.