PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 16 -- Ahead of the 40th All India Indira Marathon scheduled here on November 19, athletes are encountering difficulties in signing up for the event. Several athletes who wish to participate have approached the regional sports office at Madan Mohan Malviya (MMM) Stadium to register complaints regarding the online form filling facility, which has been paused owing to a technical glitch, officials said. Regional sports officer Prem Kumar and his team have advised participants to fill out offline forms as such. A group of participants from Rajasthan have reported inability in uploading their forms, prompting officials to suggest submitting forms via WhatsApp as an alternative. Participants are now being assured that offline registration is available to overcome the technical glitches in the online portal. It may be mentioned that the annual Indira Marathon 2025 will be held in Prayagraj on November 19. Offline registration has begun at the stadium and runners can instantly obtain their BIB numbers by showing their Aadhaar cards. Runners from across the country will participate in this 42.195-kilometer marathon. According to the sports officer, around 150 registrations have already been received in offline mode while owing to some technical glitch the online mode of registration was presently stalled. "All such outstation runners who are not able to fill up the registration forms through online mode are requested to arrive at the stadium latest by November 18 so that they could fill up their registration forms through offline mode," he said. An average 500 runners participate every year in the marathon which will commence at 6.30am from Anand Bhawan and culminate at MMM Stadium. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. A senior faculty member at the Department of TB and Chest of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College (MLNMC), Dr Virendra Sharma is all set to bid adieu to competitive sports this year. A well-known footballer in his college days, who played in the Subroto Cup in 1973 against UP College, Benares besides having also played county cricket from Kent County Cricket League at Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells, England during his post graduation years in France and England, the sexagenarian has been participating in the Indira Marathon race from 2001. "It is my aim and wish that people understand the value of keeping fit and the role of sports in life. I have already completed my registration for the 40th Indira Marathon and my chest number is 119," he added....