Hyderabad, Nov 28 (IANS) Thousands of people, including celebrities, Sunday participated in the Hyderabad 10K Run for good health around Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.

The environs of the picturesque lake warmed up on a cool morning as about 20,000 people, including politicians, film personalities, sportspersons and software professionals, joined the run.

Sponsored by the State Bank of Hyderabad, the run began at People's Plaza on Necklace Road and ended at the same venue after passing through NTR Gardens and Sanjevaiah Park.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan flagged off the run, which attracted a large number of youngsters.

Parliamentarian G. Vivek, Telugu film actors D. Suresh, Muralimohan, Naga Chaitanya, Nikhil, Navadeep, Manchu Vishnu and former All England badminton champion P. Gopichand also participated.

Started as a fitness awareness event seven years ago, Hyderabad 10K Run has now become an important sporting event. This year, participants also highlighted the message of "keep the lake clean".

The eighth edition was divided into different categories -- competitive 10K Run for the elite and international men, women, Rs.12 lakh prize money run for amateurs of 18 years and above, corporate run of eight km and fun run of eight km for those above 12 years.

Milia of Ethiopia won the run in the men's category while Inder Singh finished second. In the women's run, Lalita Barba bagged the first prize while Priyanka Singh finished second.

The organisers said 17,400 people had earlier registered for the run while many more turned up for spot registration.

Hyderabad 10K Run Foundation chairman Daggubati Suresh Babu said an entry fee of Rs.200-Rs.500 was introduced this year to make it a professional event.

The foundation plans to make the run an international event in the next five years.