R C Ramu, Rina Das to participate in Hong Kong marathon

Indian athletes R C Ramu and Rina Das will leave for the last leg of the 'Greatest Race on the Earth' challenge tonight, which is to be held in Hong Kong on February 17.

India tops the men's category in the South Asia and Middle-East Challenge while the women are placed second.

In its last leg in Mumbai, Ram Singh had clocked 2 hours 18 minutes and three seconds to miss a berth in the Beijing Olympics by a whisker.

However, Ramu who finished 15th in last years race in Hong Kong said the race is tricky in the last ten kilometres due many inclines and slopes but was optimistic about his chances at the event.

Ramu - a havaldar with the Army was currently training at the Army Sports Institute, Pune today said that he has been clocking impressive timings during practices.

"The race is good and I know what to expect from it because I ran last year and its difficult on the final stretch ten kilometres or so."

"I like the climate also that is about 18 degrees celsius which is good for the marathon relay event and I am hoping to finish in the top five but my priority is to qualify for the Olympics later this year," said Ramu.

On the other hand, Rina Das who was training with her husband in Nadia district, West Bengal and employed with the Eastern Railways said she is till 10 minutes behind the top marathoners.

"I had clocked 2 hours 51 minutes in the Allahabad marathon in last year which is my personal best but I feel that I need to improve my timings to settle among the top runners, said the athlete.