A Host of Partners Supports 2nd Edition of Mumbai Juniorthon 2016, a Fitness Carnival for Kids

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | December 22, 2016 | News

Party Sharty Entertainment Mumbai Juniorthon

Party Sharty Entertainment along with Radius Developers, organised the second edition of Mumbai Juniorthon - the largest under15 kids marathon in Mumbai on December 4 at BKC. With such an overwhelming response received in the first year, Mumbai Juniorthon was back with a participation of 3000+ children and a total footfall of 12000+ in its second edition. The initiative was aimed at encouraging outdoor activities and physical fitness among children and was a resounding success with support from the public, sponsors and celebrities. 

“We started approaching the sponsors in July 2016 when we signed up with MMRDA for the venue. We had made a checklist of companies that would be relevant to our event. Within a couple of months and several discussions we closed our sponsorship with a total of 23 Sponsors & Partners onboard across various categories," said Amit Mehta, Director, Party Sharty Entertainment.

These included Presenting Sponsor - Radius Developers; In Association With – Kanakia Paris; In Association with – Siddhitech Homes; Apparel Partner – Qiddo; Banking Partner – Kotak Mahindra Bank; Health Drink Partner – Protiyum; Home & Lifestyle Partner – Spaces; Luxury Automobile Partner – Autohangar; Education Partner – Time; Holiday Partner – Club Mahindra; Radio Partner – Fever 104 FM; Broadcast Partner – Cartoon Network; Wellness Partner – Mickey Mehta; Theme Park Partner – Kidzania; Beverage Partner – Frooti; Medical Partner – S L Raheja Hospital; Outdoor Partner – Bright Outdoor; Recovery Partner – Live Active; Nutrition Partner – Soulfull; Cinema Advertising Partner – Khushi; Hydration Partner – Kelzai; Community Partner – Mumbai Moms; and Hospitality Partner – M Talwar Group.

Celebrity support for the event came from Bollywood actors like Sonu Sood, Kiran Rao, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ritesh Deshmukh, Remo D’souza, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Kay Kay Menon, who lent their voice and sent their best wishes for the initiative. Celebrity guests for the flagoff included Tara Sharma, Indian Actress, Model and Host of the popular show ‘The Tara Sharma Show’ based on parenting and child care; Karan Mehra – Television Actor, Model and Fashion Designer; Television Star Jay Soni; Bhavya Gandhi a.k.a Tapu from the television show 'Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah'; and stand-up comedian Saloni Daini popularly known as Gangu bai.

Juniorthon was categorised to accommodate various levels of runners considering age and distance. The children participating in Juniorthon took on the streets of Mumbai, pushed their limits and conquered a distance as a testament to their physical endurance and mental toughness.

“Lack of outdoor activities has led to a rise in childhood obesity and other related diseases in India. Children are more vulnerable to Vitamin D deficiency, depression and chronic weight-related diseases due to their inactive lifestyles. Every child needs to play outdoors for his or her physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Mumbai Juniorthon is all about children running towards a healthier future and supporting a good cause", added Mehta.

The marathon kicked off at sharp 06:30am with the 4 KM Run for the 11 – 15 years age category. Holistic Guru Mickey Mehta’s team of trainers did the pre-run warm ups for all participants. The run was marshalled by Autohangar India Pvt Ltd’s Indian Motorcycle Pilot Bikers and cyclists whose thundering noise gave an adrenaline rush to the participants. The runs continued with 1 KM, 2 KM and 0.5 KM categories.

The last run of the day was for the Differently Abled category. Juniorthon’s ‘Happy Run’ encouraged disabled children to participate in a unique 0.5 km inspirational run. Over 100 runners ran together in Wheelchair and Non Wheel Chair categories (from Gateway School of Mumbai & Adapt Spastics Society of India).

The event saw over 3000 participants conquering the streets of BKC in the wee hours of Mumbai, with a few participants who flew from London, Dubai, Surat and Ahemdabad. 

Mumbai Juniorthon 2016 gave away prizes worth over 12 lakhs along with coveted Trophies for the winners. For all the categories the Winner, 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner Up got 4N5D, 3N4D & 2N3D holiday vouchers respectively for both boys and girls from Club Mahindra Resorts. Other prizes included Spaces Gift Hampers & Vouchers from Kidzania. The winners also got coveted trophies.

“Although running is a competitive activity with timing and time chips being involved, we decided to give recognition to every child who finishes the run by garlanding them with a Finishers Medal and a Completion Certificate with the goal being - 3000 Children, 5 Categories, 1 Goal ‘Everyone is a Winner’!” said Bhavna Mehta, Director of Party Sharty Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Bombay Scottish School won a special trophy for Maximum Participation. This year, Juniorthon had exclusively tied up with Smile Foundation, an NGO that works towards development and empowerment of children from vulnerable backgrounds via Education & Health Care. The event boasts of a fundraising platform wherein a significant portion of the registration fees was donated to the NGO.

Following the run, Juniorthon showcased a special family carnival cum fitness expo with multiple workshops, curated shows, fitness activities and food pop-ups for a great family mêlée. The carnival had over 50+ attractions to choose from which was a mix of Games, Food, Rides, Fitness Activities, Workshops and more. There were various performances by children on stage like Ballet, Bollywood dance, Zumba, Yoga, Science & bubble show, football freestyler, magic shows and various on spot activities for children which had lots of prizes. Children had an interactive Meet & Greet session with their favourite toons from Cartoon Network - Ben 10 and Kris and KidZania Mascots. Workshops & Activities included: Obstacle course, endurance building activities, laddering, slack line, jumbo maze walk, jungle book jigsaw puzzle, camping tents, parachute play, ball activities, robotics, Mercedes car painting, Bajaj Electricals & Nutella Culinary School,  Camlin Arts & Craft Studio, Nerolac Wall Painting, Shiamak Dance Studio, KidZania Police Department, bull tosser and more. The carnival added to the entire glamour of the event as it gave the children & their families something extra to do on a Sunday morning.

“We would like to develop this property more as a community project by catching them young, inculcating fitness habits since childhood to avoid health issues that put children’s lives at risk. We have established ourselves in Mumbai & now we are ready to take the plunge. We have already started conducting feasibility study to take Juniorthon multi city to Pune & Bangalore very soon”, added Bhavna Mehta.