Walking is at the heart of all movement when it comes to human physicality and Fast&Up Mumbai Walkathon is a step in this direction.

With over 4000 participants having signed up for the highly anticipated walkathon, the event to be held in Mumbai on March 16 will feature three categories – 10km Pro Walk, 5km Family Walk and 3km Fun Walk.

The walkathon will be flagged off at the JVPD Ground, Juhu and will take participants past Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan’s residence, leading to Juhu beach and back.

John Gloster, the head physiotherapist of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, was present at the occasion and vouched for the overall health and sporting benefits of walking.

“When I got to know about this initially, I wanted to be involved with it. Walking is life and because it involves movement, it is the core of everything that is good for us. Movement sits at the core of everything I do. It offers solutions for me. When I look at the concept of walking, we embrace movement and the physicality of it. We have to get our kids moving because it's the foundation,’’ he added.

Also present at the event was national athlete and 20km walking medallist for India, Mansi Negi.

Negi was elated with the prospect of seeing the overwhelming women registrations for the event.

“It is interesting to note women have outnumbered men in registrations across the three categories. It is possibly a reflection that women are becoming increasingly health conscious, which is great for the community and the country on the whole,” she added.

Vinay Bhartia, co-founder, JustWalkIndia expressed his satisfaction at the expected turnout for the event.

“We are thrilled to announce an impressive turnout of over 4000 participants for the inaugural edition of the Fast&Up Mumbai Walkathon. The enthusiastic reception for this new paradigm in mass participation sports is a reflection of the city’s love for the outdoors and community bonding,’’ he added.