Bangalore: Corporate honchos from the IT hub of India have their jogging shoes out as they prepare to run Sunday for a cause.

Seventy teams from various corporate houses will participate in a relay race to help raise funds for an NGO working for the underprivileged children of Bangalore.

Prominent corporate houses like Infosys, Dell, HP, Goldman Sachs, Motorola, Samsung, Philips and KPMG are expected to take part in the relay. Each team has paid a registration fee of Rs.3,000 and will have four runners.

Organised by Runners for Life, the event titled "Urban Stampede" will be flagged off by Shikha Tandon, the lone swimmer from India who participated in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

The 20-km run will start from a resort near the new international airport, about 35 km from the city centre.

After passing through various thoroughfares of the city, the run will end at the starting point. Each runner will cover a distance of five km.

"In a unique gesture, corporate houses will run to contribute for the cause of the underprivileged children," Arvind Bharthi, manager of Runners for Life, told IANS.

Bharthi however refused to provide the names of the participants due to security concerns.

On the amount of funds to be raised through the run, Bharthi said it was difficult to peg the figure beforehand as several sponsors were still contributing funds.

"Part of the proceeds of the event will go to Dream A Dream, a local NGO working for underprivileged children," added Bharthi.

"When we first approached the corporate houses, we were a bit sceptical about their reaction. But we were surprised to see their enthusiasm," he said.

A participant in the run, requesting anonymity, said that it was the responsibility of all to make sure that basic needs of all children were met.

"I am glad that I will be contributing in my own small way for the cause of needy children," he added.

According to experts working in the field of child rights, in recent years the number of children, especially street children, in Bangalore has increased manifold.