MANIPAL: “Say no to drugs, yes to running shoes,” was the message some 3,000 runners, mostly students of Manipal Academy of Higher Education and other local colleges, spread on Sunday morning. They ran five kilometres to create awareness on the menace of drug abuse. The event was the culmination of two-month long campaign by the Udupi district police. The run was flagged off by Dr H S Ballal, pro chancellor, MAHE and Laxman B Nimbarg, superintendent of police, Udupi.Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal in association with Manipal Runners’ Club, Udupi district police and Udupi Press Club organized the run with support from Academy of General Education, Manipal, Udayavani.com and Syndicate Bank.Along with the students, there were children below the age of 10 completing the run and faculty that too took part in spreading the message. There was a dash of fun and frolic as well. Before the start of the run, the participants were put through warm-up exercises including Zumba.At the valedictory, all the participating schools and institutions were given a token of appreciation. Laxman B Nimbargi, SP, Udupi District, BR Hiremath, deputy zonal manager, Syndicate bank, Nataraj, regional manager, Syndicate Bank, Manipal, Ganesh Prasad Pardelu, president of Udupi District Working Journalists Association, Nagaraj Rao, coordinator, Press Club Udupi, and the Pro Vice Chancellor of MAHE - Health Sciences, Dr Poornima Baliga were present.Tokens of encouragement were also given to Mallikarjuna who finished the race first, Nozwan, a, 7-year- old from Katpadi who finished the race in a mere 23 minutes, an incredible pace for his age, and Archana Jai Vittal who represented Asare.

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