Mumbai, Aug 10 (IANS): Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will virtually flag off the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon to be held on Saturday.

Packaged in a new concept to overcome the challenges posed by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and to celebrate India's 73rd Independence Day, the marathon will aim to make every Indian feel free while also instilling positivity in each of them during these trying times.

"Mental and physical fitness have always been important and is even more so today. It is wonderful to see enthusiastic runners registering for the IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon. I wish them well, as they exercise precautions and follow lockdown instructions while running towards their fitness goals," Tendulkar, the brand ambassador of IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said.

Organised by NEB Sports, over 6,000 runners have already registered for the marathon across the four categories - Full Marathon (42.2k), Half Marathon (21.1k), 10k and 5k.

The runners, each running in his or her own respective city, across the world, will need to monitor their distances and timings on any of the available tracking apps and share the links or screenshots on the given platform link, to be eligible for certificates.

To reinforce the spirit of nationalism, the full marathoners are requested to run in saffron colours, the half-marathoners in green, the 10k runners in white and the 5k ones in navy blue.

"While this pandemic has been a time of stress and anxiety, it has also brought about a lot of positives. We have seen that the fitness quotient of the country has definitely improved with people becoming more conscious of their fitness and health.

"Through our IDBI Federal Future Fearless Marathon, we want to spread the message of hope and encourage people to look to the future with positivity, optimism and confidence," said Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO of IDBI Federal Life Insurance.

"We have been introducing new concepts of running during COVID-19 such as our immensely successful 'Run to the Moon' initiative which raised over Rs. 19 lakh for coaches and sports support staff, and we are confident that India will participate in a big way in this novel marathon too," he added.

Nagaraj Adiga, CMD of NEB Sports said, "It is greatly encouraging to see runners from across India and even from other countries enthusiastically participate in the virtual running events during this pandemic."