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IAU 24 Hr Asia & Oceania Championships Japan – A Haul of Medals for India

At the recent IAU 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships held at Hirosaki, Japan, Indian team put up their best performance so far and finished with a haul of five medals – 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.

Tenzin Dolma and Amar Singh Devanda shattered the individual national records in men’s and women’s 24-hour running.

In the women’s run, Tenzin Dolma set a new national record of 228.939 kilometres, surpassing the previous record of 217.327 km set by Sunita Subba in France in 2025. Tenzin finished in the fourth position among women runners.

In the men’s event Amar broke his own national record of 272.537 km set in April 2024, to set a new national record of 282.881 km. He also won the individual gold medal.

Indian men swept the individual podium positions winning the gold, silver and the bronze medals. Geeno Antony secured silver medal with a distance of 272.894 km and Saurav Ranjan the bronze with a distance of 260.058 km.

With a combined distance of 815.833 km, the Indian men finished with a team gold.

The women’s team from India secured the bronze medal with a total distance of 667.722 km (The total of the first three leading runners of a country is considered for the ranking as per the rules of IAU).

The blog spoke to all the 11 athletes and their coach Santhosh Padmanabhan.

Santhosh Padmanabhan – Coach and Manager Indian Ultrarunning Team

The stupendous improvement in the Indian team’s performance at international ultrarunning events is primarily due to the shift in the team camaraderie, says Santhosh Padmanabhan, official coach and manager of the Indian ultrarunning team in all of the IAU ultra running events that India is part of.

“From competing with each other to now running as a team the shift in the camaraderie among the team members has made a huge difference. Now, as a team we are doing well and not merely focussing on individual performances,” he said. This, in turn, has led to a collective improvement in the performances of each of the athletes.

“Of the 11 athletes, eight of them got their personal bests,” he said.

Over time, he along with the team of runners and crew have figured out the hydration and nutrition requirements for ultrarunning events. “We have realised that hydration and nutrition cannot be mono-dimensional. One can’t sustain on one fixed formula. We should be ready to shift options,” he said.

Santhosh Padmanabhan with Sugourav Goswami (Photo from a previous race)

This time around the team worked with a nutritionist, Sonali Sahoo. “We analysed everything, created a cheat sheet and listed out the possible challenges and the strategies to overcome these,” Santhosh said.

The crew, comprising nutritionist Sonali, Crew Gorkha Ram, Assistant Coach, Hemant Kumar and Physiotherapist Aashish Kushwaha, was present throughout the training program including travelling to destinations, Santhosh said.

Going ahead, there is abundant potential to explore among Indian ultrarunners and at the same time a lot of learnings from each of the ultrarunning events, he said.

Tenzin Dolma

At Hirosaki, Tenzin Dolma shattered the national record in 24-hour running by a huge margin.

At the end of the stipulated 24-hour period, Tenzin’s mileage tally was 228.939 km, surpassing the previous national record for women by more than 11 km. She finished fourth among women runners.

Tenzin Dolma was part of the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships in November 2025. She had secured a silver medal in the women’s race with a timing of 9:18:49.

“I did my training for Japan in Manali where I stay. Because of the undulating terrain here, I was not able to put in speed work in my running,” she said. Also, she was not able to fulfil Santhosh’s training plan fully. Her strength training also fell short.

Standing at the start line in Hirosaki, Tenzin did have an injury around the knee.

“But the hydration and nutrition support during the run worked out very well,” said the 40-year-old ultrarunner.

Her post-run recovery has been good. Tenzin believes she can improve further in 24 hour runs. “I could have done better if I had trained well and had no injury,” she said.

Sunita Subba

The Darjeeling-based ultrarunner, Sunita Subba, who represented India at the 2025 IAU 24 Hour World Championships, France, and set a new national record, fell short in her training plan for the Japan championships.

“Santhosh Sir’s training plan was excellent but I could not follow it fully. My son had his 12th exams and I had to pay attention to him,” she said. She came down to Bengaluru from Darjeeling to be part of the training team but had to return home in a short while. At Albi, France, Sunita had set a new national record in 24-hour running to 217.327 km.

At Hirosaki, Sunita commenced her 24-hour race in her new pair of shoes that she purchased in Japan. That did lead to some discomfort. “After 14 hours of run, I got back into my old pair of shoes and I was much better off. I did have some gut issues and had to take many toilet breaks,” Sunita said. She surpassed her national record mark to cover a distance of 224.237 km, a new personal best and fifth position among women runners.

“After the run, I did not feel as tired as last time. The nutritionist’s (Sonali) recommendation to start consuming solid foods from the second hour itself helped, I think,” Sunita said.

Amar Singh Devanda

Ultrarunner Amar Singh Devanda has been rewriting national records in two categories – 100 km run and 24-hour run – for the last few years.

At present, he holds the national records in both these events.

At Hirosaki, Amar surpassed his own record in 24-hour run by a huge margin. He covered a distance of 282.881, up from his previous record of 272.537 km. He believes he has the potential to take it up further.

This time around, training was for a shorter period. Nevertheless, he covered a distance of 200 km weekly in training.

Many factors helped this time – mileage in training, the weather on race day, well-planned nutrition and hydration support and great team spirit.

“I was confident going into the race, both mentally and strength wise,” Amar said.

His recovery post-race has also been quite good. “After a few days’ break, we may commence our training for the IAU 100 km World Championships to be held in Spain later this year,” Amar said.

Geeno Antony

At the 2025 IAU 24 Hour World Championships, Geeno Antony topped among Indian men and also secured 10th position among the men.

He had covered a distance of 265.198 km during the stipulated 24 hours. He attributes his performance in Albi to the rigorous training schedule chalked out by the team coach Santhosh.

Geeno was able to adhere to the stringent training for the Japan championships too. “With so much of training, solutions are also easy to find,” he said.

Weather, according to him, was largely pleasant. “At the start of the race, it was sunny but then cooled down after sun went down,” Geeno said.

“It was clear that there was team work this time around. That really helped everybody’s performance,” he said. The crew’s support was also excellent. He was assigned Gorkha Ram as his crew. Gorkha Ram from IAF is also an ultrarunner.

Geeno covered a distance of 272.894 km, briefly surpassing the previous national record, and securing a silver medal in individual men’s race.

Saurav Kumar Ranjan

Saurav Ranjan has represented India in many IAU organised ultrarunning events.

“This time around my training went off quite well and I was able to execute all the runs including the long ones to the best of my ability,” he said. Saurav is currently posted in Bengaluru from Indian Air Force. At Bengaluru, he trained with his running compatriots – Geeno Antony and Amar Devanda.

“I did have a clavicular bone injury but I did not feel the pain during the 24-hour run,” he said.

Weather at Hirosaki, Japan, during the 24-hour period of the run was quite conducive for running. “Also, this time around, I avoided too many gels and focused on eating natural food as guided by our nutritionist,” Saurav said.

The 34-year-old ultrarunner covered a distance of 260.058 km, improving his own personal record by 18 km and securing a bronze medal in individual performance.

Aparna Choudhary

Aparna Choudhary was nursing an injury in her foot that she earned during the 338-kilometre run at Vineyard Ultra in February 2026. She completed the distance in 64 hours, an improvement of four hours from her previous attempt in 2025. She finished third overall.

She took time off from running to help the healing process and started training for Japan quite late.

At Japan, she kept running steadily through the 24 hours of the race. “But I kept taking too many toilet breaks as I had gotten cold because of the delay in getting into warm clothes,” she said. Aparna, often prone to gut issues during these ultra runs, was fine this time around. “After 14 to 15 hours, I reduced my food intake,” she said.

Towards the last part of the race, Aparna was quite inclined to give up. “But Bindu’s company helped me. What was amazing that despite her setback, she was goading me to go along and not stop,” Aparna said.

Aparna covered a distance of 214.546 km during the stipulated hours of the race, improving her personal record by 4 km. (For more on Aparna Choudhary follow this link (https://shyamgopan.com/2026/03/09/aparna-choudhary-running-the-ultras/)

Sugourav Goswami

Sugourav Goswami took to ultrarunning a few years ago and has been a regular podium finisher in many of the events.

At the Albi Championships, Sugourav finished second among Indian men.

Sugourav along with the other ultrarunners went through a gruelling training plan for the Albi championships. Training for Hirosaki was not adequate, he said.

“I could feel that I was lacking in strength. Also, I had an injury in my left glute. At times, it was quite painful,” the ultrarunner from Uttarakhand said. According to him, physiotherapist Aashish Kushwaha’s presence in the crewing team was a great help to all the runners.

Up until 16 hours, Sugourav ran alongside Saurav. “After that my energy dropped. I could not maintain my pace,” he said.

“I really struggled in the last eight hours. I was not able to maintain my pace,” he said. He also pointed out that the camaraderie among team mates this time around was quite good and that helped in bettering runners’ performances.

In the intervening hours, Sugourav also sought medical help and crew support for Bindu Juneja, who had collapsed during the run.

Sugourav covered a distance of 250.270 km during the 24 hours, improving his personal record by 5 km and also finishing seventh among men.

Mukesh Kumari

Mukesh Kumar, the Panchkula-based ultrarunner started running a few years ago and quickly moved into ultrarunning.

At the Tuffman 24 Hour Stadium Run in 2022, Mukesh covered a distance of 168 km.

She was also part of the 100 Days of Running, putting up a daily mileage of 30 to 40 km. That helped her build up her endurance.

After she was chosen for the Japan championships, she followed Santhosh’s training plan diligently. “My race at Japan went off very well. The arrangement and the crew support were quite good,” she said.

Mukesh Kumari finished the hours with a mileage of 194.237 km, an improvement of 6 km from her previous 24 hour run.

Velu Perumal

Velu Perumal has been representing India in many of the ultrarunning events for the past few years.

The runner from Indian Army, now in Ooty, had a very good training season, often running with India’s elite marathoners, Gopi Thonakal and Man Singh.

However, his decision to start the run with a new pair of shoes proved to be wrong as his toe nail came off and his toes started bleeding. “At the 13th or 14th hour, I changed into my old shoes but the damage had been done,” Velu said. He had to chug along at a slow pace.

He had set a target of covering 260 km and his training had done justice to that target. He finished with 192.895 km, falling short from his personal best of 234 km.

“I feel quite bad about my performance. I had training very well for four months,” he said.

Though he fell short of mileage, he was asked to run alongside the other runners in the team to keep the momentum going, said Santhosh.

The crew support, according to Velu, was quite good, especially that of the nutritionist.

Shashi Mehta

Shashi Mehta, an officer of the rank of Major from NCC, started running in 2018. Up until now, she has done eight 24-hour runs. She has also represented India in both 100 km and 24-hour runs of IAU.

Originally from Pithoragarh, Chhattisgarh, Shashi did some bit of sprinting in her school days. She started running in 2018 when she was posted in Kottayam in Kerala.

Shashi Mehta and Mukesh Kumari along with ultrarunner Deepti Chaudhary (centre). Picture courtesy Deepti

At the 2026 edition of White Sands Ultra held at Rann of Kutch in March, she won the women’s race in the 100-miler with a timing of 26:11:48 hours. She is a regular podium finisher in many ultrarunning events.

“Returning from White Sands Ultra, I was left with just six weeks for the Japan championships. I took two weeks off to recover from the 100-miler. My training for Japan did take a hit as I had not fully recovered from the race,” she said.

Shashi completed the Japan race with a mileage of 176.755 km. “This time, I had no gut issues. During the race, I consumed 20 gels, electrolyte drinks, salt tablets and solid food,” she said.

According to her, Indian women ultrarunners do have the capability to bring home the gold medal.

Bindu Juneja

At the IAU 24 Hour World Championships 2025 held at Albi, France, Bengaluru-based ultrarunner Bindu Juneja crossed the 200 km mark to finish with a distance of 202.164 km, a huge improvement of 17.2 km in her personal record.

This time around, she was not able to put in the requisite amount of training. After the World Championships, she went off training for a surgery and was left with two months to train for Japan.

On race day, Bindu managed to run steady for 10 hours. “Into the 10th and 11th hour, I started to feel dizzy and my heart rate was hitting highs constantly,” Bindu said. Following that she had no clue what happened. Sugourav Goswami, a fellow runner from her team, saw her lying down. He alerted the medical team and guided her to India’s support tent. Initial indication showed that her blood sugar had dropped to very low levels. She was also cold and started shivering. “I was out of the race from the 11th to the 14th hour. From the 15th hour I started walking until the 18th hour and then ran rest of the hours consuming only Coke and Eclairs,” she said. Bindu finished with a distance of 160.378 km.

“I will be eternally grateful to Sugourav for having rescued me after he had found me fallen along the race’s course, sacrificing his own race momentarily,” Bindu said.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)

(Photos by Indian Team)

(Inputs from IAU website)

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Tenzin Dolma, Amar Devanda rewrite national records in women’s, men’s 24-hr run

  • India clinches men’s individual, team gold; women’s team gets bronze at IAU Asia Championships Japan
  • Geeno Antony gets individual silver, Saurav Ranjan bronze

Ultrarunners Amar Singh Devanda and Tenzin Dolma of India smashed the individual national records in men’s and women’s 24-hour ultrarun at the IAU 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships 2026 held at Hirosaki, Japan, on May 23-24, 2026.

The Indian men’s team also topped the charts and secured a gold medal in the event and the women’s team finished with bronze medal, IAU (International Association of Ultrarunners) said in its website. Indian male ultrarunners covered a combined distance of 815.833 kilometres to win the gold medal. (The total of the first three leading runners of a team is considered for the ranking as per IAU rules).

This is the third time that Indian male ultrarunners as a team have emerged champions in IAU events, the previous two times being in 2022 and 2024.

At the Hirosaki event, Amar broke his own national record of 272.537 km set in April 2024, to set a new national record of 282.881 km.

In the women’s run, India’s Tenzin Dolma smashed the previous national record of 217.327 km set by Sunita Subba in France in 2025, to set the new record of 228.939 km. Tenzin finished in the fourth position among women runners.

At Hirosaki, the national record for 12-hour run for both men and women were rewritten, according to Santhosh Padmanabhan, the manager and coach of the Indian ultrarunning team.

Indian men swept the individual podium positions winning the gold, silver and the bronze medals. Geeno Antony secured silver medal with a distance of 272.894 km and Saurav Ranjan the bronze with a distance of 260.058 km.

In the women’s individual race, Miho Nakata of Japan won the gold with a distance of 261.170 km. She had briefly held the world record of 270.363 km for women’s 24-hour run before it was broken by Sarah Webster of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (278.622 km) at the IAU World Championships, France, 2025.

Amar Singh Devanda (Picture from another event)

The individual silver medal was won by two Australian runners – Jenny White and Carrie Geeson – who crossed the 24-hour duration with a distance of 241.229 km each.

Out of the 11 athletes from India, eight runners were able to secured new personal bests, Santhosh said.

Tenzin Dolma (Picture from another event)

Team Performances

In the women’s team performance, Japan won the gold covering a combined distance of 707.357 km. Australia won the silver with a distance of 684.450 km and India won the bronze with a distance of 667.722 km.

In the men’s team performance, Japan secured the silver medal with a combined distance of 754.726 km and Australia the bronze with a distance of 732.525 km.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)

(Inputs from IAU Website) 

(Photos courtesy Indian team)

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My Boston Marathon Story

A personal account by runner Jayadrath Singh

Jayadrath Singh commenced running sometime in December 2018. A year later he ran his first marathon, finishing in three hours and 30 minutes. An SNCO (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer), Jayadrath, originally from Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, is now posted in Chennai.

Jayadrath’s foray into running was prompted by the need to step up his physical activity. Soon, he began enjoying running. In 2021, he attempted his first 50 km, a stadium run in Lucknow. Having done a few ultras thereafter, Jayadrath got the opportunity to represent India at the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championship, held in November 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.

On April 20, 2026, he attempted his first World Marathon Major – Boston Marathon. He finished the race in 2:46:09, second fastest among Indian runners this year.

He writes about his experience at the 2026 edition of Boston Marathon.

I ran my first marathon in December 2019 finishing with a timing of three hours and 30 minutes. At that point I did not have any plan to go back and do another marathon, a distance of 42.195 kilometres. But within a week, I found myself training for the next marathon.

Running his first marathon – Wings Marathon Faridabad December 2019

In February 2020, I ran the New Delhi Marathon and completed the race in 3:11 hours, an improvement of 19 minutes. My coach Vin D told me that I could qualify for Boston Marathon. This was the first time I heard about this marathon. Curious about Boston Marathon, I asked my coach the criteria for registering for the race. He smiled and told me it is sub-three hours for my age category. The question that came to my mind was, “Can I achieve this?”. He was confident I could improve my time efficiency. When the coach believes that I can achieve the target, it became a moral responsibility to work towards it.

From that moment Boston Marathon qualification was my main goal. I began scouring through Boston Marathon website to find out about athletes from India who had run the iconic race in sub-three hours. I made a point to look for those runners who had finished the race in sub-three hours with a full-fledged job. Some of the runners’ names that came up in my search were Mahesh Diwedi, Hemant Beniwal, Dany Saran and Binay Sah. I followed their inspiring journey and with the help of my coach’s running plan and meticulous training I ran and finished the 2021 edition of the New Delhi Marathon with timing of 2:55. Most importantly, I had achieved a negative split in the race.

I was happy to have met the target visualised by my coach.

But qualifying is only one part of the work for participating in Boston Marathon. I needed funds for travel and stay in Boston. Also, with every passing year, the qualifying mark was getting tighter at Boston Marathon. Thankfully, I was able to improve my time efficiency in the marathon distance year after year.

Between 2021 and 2016, I qualified for Boston Marathon nine times.

Ultrarunner Vikas Malik, owner of Leap (nutrition brand) offered support to me to help me transform my dream to reality. I will be forever grateful for his support. I hope there are many more Vikas Maliks to help Indian runners get to the start line of Boston Marathon.

Representing India at the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championship 2025 at Thailand

Race day (April 20) was chilly and cloudy day when I lined up in Hopkinton, the start point of the marathon. From boarding the distinguished yellow school buses with Boston police escort to the finish line volunteers never leave a chance to amaze you and make you feel special during your entire Boston Marathon.

At Boston Marathon 2026

I was in Coral 3 Wave 1. I set off the start line with sun shining bright and witnessing the US Air Force fly along the course. It was an emotional moment crossing the start time. I felt confident and proud completing my first lap even as I remembered what my coach advised me, ‘to stay calm and composed during the early part of the race and push in the second half.’

The vibe was incredible and all along the course there is not a single stretch where people are not standing and cheering. It felt as if the entire city had turned up at the marathon course to cheer the runners.

At Boston Marathon 2026

As the miles went by, clouds began covering the sun and the weather turned pleasant. Advancing towards the finish line I kept hydrating myself with energy gels at regular intervals. The course was not easy by any stretch. The rolling hills kept the challenge for the runners. But the pulsating energy from the people and volunteers prompted every runner to push.

I crossed the finish line with gratitude and pride. The icing on the cake was getting a gold colour Boston Marathon finisher medal as the US is celebrating 250th anniversary of the Nation this year.

I finished Boston Marathon 2026 with a timing of 2:46:09. I was the second fastest Indian this time.

(Photos courtesy – Jayadrath Singh)

(Inputs from Boston Marathon website)

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London Marathon 2026: Two-hr barrier smashed, new marathon world record set

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe shatters marathon world record, two-hr barrier

The 2026 edition of TCS London Marathon witnessed history when two runners smashed the two-hour finish barrier and three runners smashed the existing world record for marathon.

On April 26, 2026, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha smashed the two-hour finish barrier at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026.

Sawe, the 30-year-old runner from Kenya, crossed the finish line at London Marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, 65 seconds faster that the existing world record of 2:00:35 set by his late compatriot Kelvin Kiptum (also of Kenya) in 2023, media reports said.

Sabastian Sawe – photo downloaded from the X account of World Athletics. No copyright infringement intended

Ethiopia’s Kejelcha finished in 1:59:41 and Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo came third in 2:00:28, London Marathon 2026 results showed. Kejelcha broke the two-hour barrier in his debut marathon.

In October 2019, Kenya’s running legend Eliud Kipchoge (also a world record holder for some time) was the first person in history to run a marathon in sub-two hours in Vienna, Austria, at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. But it has not been considered as the world record at that time because the event was held in controlled circumstances.

TCS London Marathon is one of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors and is widely known for its fast and flat course.

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Sawan Barwal smashes India’s 48-year-old marathon record

Indian long-distance runner Sawan Barwal, in his debut marathon, smashed the country’s 48-year-old marathon record by two seconds at the N N Marathon Rotterdam, held on April 12, 2025.

Sawan, a half-marathon champion, finished the marathon in two hours, 11 minutes and 58 seconds, beating Shivnath Singh’s national record of 2:12 set way back in 1978, media reports said.

He finished in the 20th position in the elite race at N N Marathon Rotterdam, its website showed.

Photo downloaded from Athletic Federation of India Facebook page

The 28-year-old runner from Indian Army is an athlete well-known for his competence in 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and half marathon races.

At the Rotterdam race, his army compatriot Gopi Thonakal finished in 2:13:16 in 23rd position.

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At a Glance – March 2026

Indian men’s team win silver in IAU 50 k World Championship

Great Britain win gold in both men’s and women’s race

Indian men’s ultrarunning team won the silver medal at the IAU 50 km World Championships held in New Delhi on March 14, 2026.

Great Britain won the gold medal in both the men’s and women’s 50 km race at the Championships.

Great Britain’s men’s team had the fastest finish of eight hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds. (Team’s standing is calculated by the aggregate time of the top three finishers of each country.)

In second place, was the Indian team with a combined timing of 8:52:07. United States won the bronze medal with a timing of 8:53:52.

In the women’s race, Great Britain won gold with a combined timing of 9:53:41, Poland silver (10:01:34) and Japan bronze (10:38:03).

The Indian team at IAU 50 K World Championships, Delhi (Photo downloaded from IAU Facebook page)

In the individual race, Alex Milne of Great Britain won men’s gold with a finish of 2:46:09. The women’s race was won by Naomi Robinson of Great Britain (3:13:40), as per information on IAU website.

The World Masters Athletics 50 k World Championships was also held concurrently with the IAU Championships.

Gulveer Singh runs half marathon in India’s fastest time

Timing may not be recognised as national record

Athlete Gulveer Singh ran the New York City Half Marathon in the country’s fastest finish timing of under 60 minutes on March 15, 2026.

Gulveer finished overall third at the race with a timing of 59:42 minutes.

Gulveer Singh (Photo is screenshot from Indian Athletics’ Instagram page)

He bettered the previous national record timing of 1:00:30 set by Avinash Sable at the 2020 edition of Delhi Half Marathon.

Media reports said Gulveer’s timings may not be considered as national record because the NYC course is not recognised for world and national records.

Gulveer Singh already holds the national record in 3000 metres, 5000 metres and 10000 metres, Indian Athletics said in an Instagram page.

Indian team for 2026 IAU 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships Japan chosen

The Ultra and Trail Running Selection Committee of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has chosen the team of ultrarunners to represent the country at the IAU 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships.

A total of 11 ultrarunners have been chosen by the Committee, AFI said in a note.

Women ultrarunners to represent the country at the championships are Aparna Choudhary, Shashi Mehta, Sunita Subba, Bindu Juneja, Tenzin Dolma and Mukesh Kumari.

The men’s team include Amar Singh Devanda, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Geeno Antony, Velu Perumal and Sugourav Goswami.

Of these athletes, Sunita Subba holds the women’s national record for 24 hour run (217.327 km), which she set at the IAU 24 Hour World Championships held at Albi, France in October 2025.

Amar Singh Devanda holds the national record for 24 hour run (272.537 km), which he set at the IAU 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships 2024 held in Canberra, Australia.

The 2026 Championships will be held on May 23 and 24 at Hirosaki, Japan.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)

(With inputs from IAU website and AFI website)

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Aparna Choudhary – Running The Ultras

  • In the first week of February 2026, ultrarunner Aparna Choudhary ran Vineyard Ultra’s longest distance, a 338-kilometer race. She wrapped up the distance in 64 hours, 16 minutes and 36 seconds, finishing third overall. But this is not the first time she was running this distance. In 2025, she ran the same distance at Vineyard Ultra winning the race in 68:02:51 hours. Though she could not defend her 2025 title, she improved her timing in the 2026 edition.
  • Two months earlier, in December 2025, Aparna set a new course record for women in the 100-mile run at Border Ultra finishing the distance in 18 hours, 52 minutes and five seconds. She broke her own course record of 19:47:31 hours, which she set during the 2024 edition of the race.
  • In October 2025, Aparna, representing India at the IAU 24 Hour World Championships at Albi, France, had finished second among Indian women and also surpassing the women’s national record at that time. At the end of the stipulated 24 hours, she had covered a distance of 210 kms.

Aparna Choudhary started running in 2004-2005 at a time when Mumbai Marathon had just arrived, spurring an amateur running culture in the country.

Those early days her distances were small – about 5 or 6 km. This was in Bengaluru, where she was doing her MBA at ICFAI.

Shortly, thereafter, she had started working in Bengaluru. Her daily runs continued until she was posted to the U.S. At Norristown in Pennsylvania, where she stayed, she continued her runs. While there, she ran the 5-miler Valley Forge Run. She also did an 18-mile run in New Jersey.

Running was not her first foray into sport. She used to play field hockey during her schooling and college days.

At the end of 2009, she was back in India and was posted in Pune. She signed up for her first ultra run a 100 km event at the iconic Bangalore Ultra. An ultra run or an ultramarathon is any foot race that is in excess of the marathon (42.2 km).

“I had no clue what an ultrarun entailed. In the early years I would just train during the week preceding the race day,” she said. Although, she registered for 100 km at Bangalore Ultra 2010, she quit the race at 75 km as she had to head back to Pune to get to work the next day.

Her first ultrarun was a DNF. In runners’ parlance DNF means “did not finish”. DNFs in ultramarathons are not uncommon. In such long foot races anything can go wrong, ultrarunners say.

More than ten years ago, Shyam G Menon, (who started this blog website and ran it till he passed away on August 31, 2025), had reached out to Aparna for an interview but to no avail. By then, Aparna was already a well-known name in the niche world of ultrarunning.

Years later when Shyam and me (Latha) got to know her through multiple interactions, we realized that Aparna was not stonewalling us. Her life’s pattern was quite set. Appear at the start line of ultrarunning events and at the end of these events disappear back into her personal life – her job, her training and her sketches (She is also an artist). At present she works at Cognizant.

Sketches by Aparna

At the end of an ultrarunning event, irrespective of the outcome, she seems quite equanimous. She is not the one to make any claims of her accomplishments at a time when social media platforms are exploding with posts boasting about the tiniest of achievements.

“It is an exhilarating feeling, when I complete an ultrarunning event. The feeling is indescribable. And more so, if my run has gone as per my plan. I don’t like to dissipate the excitement by chatting with others. I like to savour it and enjoy the day,” says Aparna.

Over the years, she has done a multitude of ultrarunning events – Border 100, Comrades Marathon, Goa Ultra, Malnad Ultra, 24 Hour Stadium Ultras, Run of Kutch, Vineyard Ultra 338 km to name a few. In October 2024, Aparna set the national record for women in Backyard Ultra at Pune, running for 27 hours with a mileage of 180.9 km. Aparna’s record has been subsequently rewritten by Ashwini Ganapathi, a Bengaluru-based ultrarunner, in May 2025.

The backyard ultra, also known as the last runner standing, is a format of ultra running in which runners are required to run a loop of 6.7 km within an hour. Every new hour runners who have completed the 6.7 km in the previous hour continue their running until the last surviving runner is declared the winner. This winner is also the sole finisher of the race.

The concept of backyard ultra was founded by Gary Cantrell of Tennessee (also known as Lazarus Lake). He is the founder and race director of Barkleys Marathon.

For a couple of years Aparna took time off to do her MBA from Oxford University.

Aparna has represented India in IAU ultrarunning events including the 24 Hour run as well as the 100 km, both at home and overseas.

At the IAU 24 Hour World Championships 2025 held in October in France, Aparna covered a distance of 210.537 km, surpassing the then national record of 204.314 km and improving her personal record by a huge margin from her previous best of 192 km. (The national record for women’s 24 hours stands with Sunita Subba at 217.327 km).

The Indian team at IAU 24 Hour World Championship at Albi, France

Aparna’s training for the World Championship was consistent but “nothing extraordinary”. In the run up to the Championships, Aparna took part in the 120 km Goa Ultra 2025 in early August. She won the women’s race with a finish timing of 14:51:19 hours. She saw it as a training run for the Championships.

“I do not let my mind be in the clouds about my training or my ability to perform on race day,’ she had told the blog in an earlier interaction.

There is a method to her approach. In her own mind, she draws up plans for each of the ultrarunning races she does. “If plan A falls through, I go for plan B, Plan C, D, etc). When all plans fall by the way side, I just keep running,” says Aparna.

Two months later, in December 2025, she set a new course record at the 100-mile run of Border Ultra 2025. She smashed her own course record that she had set in 2024.

Another two months later, she was at the start line of the 338 km Vineyard Ultra 2026 at Nashik, Maharashtra. Barely 16 km into the race, Aparna had a nasty fall and hurt her knees. More than halfway into the race, she started to feel a searing pain in her left foot but she continued running and completed the run.

“In these really long ultras I tend to get really dark and negative thoughts. But my mind also urges me to go on,” said Aparna.

Running ultras are not without their share of adventure on the route but sometimes, these can get out of hand.

During a 220 km ultra run at Saputara Summit 2023, in Gujarat, runners were required to first do a loop of 100 km and two loops of 60 km each to complete the distance. “Part of the route goes through a hilly forest area. I heard someone behind and I presumed it was one of the runners. The footsteps came closer and the person put his hand on my mouth. I tried to scream but couldn’t because he had gripped my mouth tightly. I then managed to bite into his finger. He loosened his grip and ran away,” said Aparna.

She won that race with a finish of 41:10 hours.

At Uttarkashi during an ultrarun, there were mild landslides along the route. “Once at Spiti during a ultrarun, there were falling rocks on one side and a river on the other side. During one of Uttarkashi 135 miler, it started pouring very heavily. I just went and laid down under one of the support vehicles, of course, reminding the driver that he needs to look below before he drives off,” she said.

If ever she feels the urge to sleep, Aparna just lays down on the side of the road or path to catch a few moments of sleep before she resumes her run.

On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led a Salt March from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi to protest against British regime’s salt monopoly. The 24-day march covered a distance of 387 km, prompting many Indians to join in the civil disobedience movement.

In 2012, Aparna along with Piyush Shah, Bhupendrasing Rajput and Vishwanathan Jayaraman did a self-supported multi-day run from Dandi to Sabarmati. “We ate local food, slept in temple premises, dharamshalas (rest houses for travellers) and at homes of some kind friends along the route,” she said.

Aparna along with co-runners of the Dandi to Sabarmati multi-day run

Ultraraces that are in excess of 200 km are among Aparna’s favourites. “Every ultrarunning event exacts its hardships. None of these ultra long events go easy,” she said. She is usually not daunted by the distances or the complicated routes of her ultraraces. “Sometimes, a 24-hour stadium run daunts me. Running around a 400-metre track for 24 hours can be quite intimidating,” she says.

In July 2023, Aparna was part of the team of ultrarunners representing India at the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships, held in Bengaluru at the sprawling Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra. Runners were required to run a loop of 5 km for 20 times to complete the 100 km distance.
It was surprisingly a warm day for July in Bengaluru. Most of the runners at the end of their run said the weather was too tough. Aparna kept running the loops and stopping occasionally at the aid stations to nibble on some food or sip some drink. As the hours went by the number of runners on the route was steading declining as runners were either finishing or exiting the race. Aparna continued running. At the end of the 12-hour cut-off time, Aparna had completed 90 km, 10 km short of the 100 km. Though a DNF, Aparna remained unperturbed. There was neither any sign of disappointment, nor was she complaining of heat or fatigue. This was the second time we were seeing her in action. After the run, she briefly dwelled upon the run and soon moved to other topics of interest.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist, based in Mumbai)

(All photos courtesy Aparna Choudhary)

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Cognizant New Delhi Marathon 2026 – Musings

Kartik Karkera and Nirmaben Thakor won the men’s and women’s marathon race at the Cognizant New Delhi Marathon 2026 held on February 22.

Kartik won the race in two hours, 13 minutes and 10 seconds, a huge improvement from his win a month ago at Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026 where he finished the race in 2:19:55.

The men’s race was a tight finish. Finishing two seconds after Kartik was Gopi Thonakal, veteran marathon runner, and the second fastest Indian marathon runner. Man Singh, the defending champion, finished three seconds after Gopi at 2:13:15.

All the three top finishers have qualified for the Asian Games. The qualifying mark as per Athletic Federation of India (AFI) was 2.15.04. The continental games are slated to be held in Japan in September this year.

In the women’s race, Nirmaben Thakor won with a finish of 2:41:15, a stupendous improvement in her personal timing. Defending champion Bhagirathi Bisht came in second with a finish of 2:43:28. In third position was Ashwini Jadhav with a finish of 2:56:59.

Certified by AFI as the National Marathon, the New Delhi Marathon is a coveted marathon course as runners are able to improve their timings. The flat course of the New Delhi Marathon route and the cool February weather assist runners in improving their timings. Often times, the gains have been substantial.

Media reports pointed out that over 30,000 runners took to the streets of Delhi to run varying distances as part of the New Delhi Marathon.

The blog spoke to a few of the winners about their experience running the marathon.

Kartik Karkera, orthopaedic surgeon, may seem like he came out of nowhere to emerge as a winner in elite category in two leading marathons – Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026 and Cognizant New Delhi Marathon 2026.

But the truth is that he has been quietly working at improving his running over the last ten years. “I enrolled for MBBS in 2015 in Moscow. In 2016, I started running and swimming mainly as a hobby,” he told this blog. He went on to do his MS in Russia and then commenced working in Russian Olympic Committee as a surgeon.

“During the Covid-19 years, I took to running twice a day. I was putting in more effort and I was enjoying it too,” he said. While in Moscow, he experienced his first running event – a 1,500-metre race.

Kartik returned to India in November of 2023. He had to write the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, a mandatory test for those with overseas medical degrees. He joined Dr Vasantrao Pawar Medical College and Hospital in Nashik.

He has been focussing on 800 metres and mainly on 1,500 metres and has won gold medals for Maharashtra state in these events. Moving on to longer distances, Kartik went on to do 5 km, 10 km and half marathon races. At Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Kartik finished third among Indian elite.

The 2026 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon was his debut marathon. “It was an experience for me as it was my first marathon. I had cramps and did struggle a lot during the latter part of the race. Also, the late start was tough,” Kartik pointed out. He won the Indian elite race with a timing of 2:19:55.

A month later, Kartik won again with a huge improvement in his timing at the New Delhi Marathon. His finish of 2:13:10 has secured him a berth in the upcoming Asian Games, due in September 2026 in Japan.

As opposed to Mumbai, the NDM start time for elite runners was too early, at 4 am. “My aim was to win this race and qualify for Asian Games,” he said adding that he was able to finish strong. “Up until 35 to 36 km, we were on track for a national record,” he said.

With his TMM run, he has also completed the Procam Slam, which entails running the four events – TCS World 10 k, Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, TSK 25 k Kolkata and TMM.

Kartik trains under Vijendra Singh, who is also the coach for Nirmaben and Sanjivani Jadhav, the elite runner who won the Indian women’s race at TMM 2026. “For strength training, nutrition and other aspects, I devise my own plan. I do my own research on sports medicine,” he said.

He is due to run the TCS World 10 K at Bengaluru in April. His main focus this year would be training for Asian Games.

In December 2025, Gopi Thonakal came quite close to the long-standing marathon national record when he crossed the finish line of Valencia Marathon with a timing of 2:12:23. The national record of 2:12 was set way back in 1978 by Shivnath Singh.

Gopi has been training in Bengaluru for many years but for the last six months he has moved his base to Ooty to train on a hilly terrain and higher altitude. Gopi believes the Ooty training has helped him to secure a substantial improvement in his timing at Valencia Marathon.

“My training for New Delhi Marathon went off quite well. I came into the race quite confidently,” said Gopi. But the 4 am start at Delhi was a dampener. “I did not sleep a wink. There was too much noise and I had to wake up at 2 am for 4 am start,” he said.

Though the weather was conducive for racing, the lack of sleep did bother. “I was able to do the first half of the race well but in the second half, I could feel the tiredness,” he said.

A slightly delayed start, at around 5 am, would have been more beneficial, Gopi pointed out. “When you wake up at 2 am for a 4 am start it is also difficult to eat or drink anything before the race,” he said.

Gopi, 37, will resume training in a few weeks and his focus is most likely on Asian Games.

At the start line of the elite marathon race at NDM 2026, defending champion Man Singh had the backing of very good training, which he executed with his compatriot Gopi.

“Our focus was to qualify for the Asian Games and therefore our training plan was designed keeping that in mind,” he said.

Man Singh (in black vest) with Gopi

The army man, otherwise based in Pune, moved to Ooty mainly to get the benefit of training in the hills.

The night before the race, Man Singh also had not slept at all. Man Singh and Gopi were sharing a room.

“The race timing was too early. In the early part of the race, some of the stretches along the route were quite dark. I could feel cramps coming on but they were manageable,” Man Singh said.

Although he was disappointed with his third finish, Man Singh did improve his personal record. He finished the marathon at NDM in 2:13:15, a 10-second improvement from his previous personal best which he achieved in 2025.

In January 2026, Nirmaben Thakor had finished second among Indian elite women at Tata Mumbai Marathon. She was the defending champion at TMM 2026 but lost out to Sanjivani Jadhav by a few seconds.

Nirmaben is unperturbed by these rankings. “It is extremely competitive out there. These things are bound to happen,” she told this blog.

At New Delhi Marathon 2026, she not only won the women’s race but also secured a personal record with a huge margin.

The elite runner from Patan, Gujarat, has been residing and training in Nashik under Coach Vijendra Singh. Her training in the run up to these two major marathons was quite good and that helped her performance at NDM 2026.

Nirmaben finished the marathon in a timing of 2:41:15, a stupendous improvement over her previous personal best of 2:47:11, which she secured in the 2024 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Nirmaben survives on her earnings from podium finishes in races.

For the last few years Kalidas Hirave has been a podium finisher in leading marathon races.

He started as a middle-distance runner moving to longer distances over the years. In February 2022, Kalidas ran his debut marathon at the New Delhi Marathon, finishing with a personal best timing of 2:18:12.

At the 2023 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon, Kalidas finished in third position among the elite.

Kalidas, originally from Satara in Maharashtra, now resides and trains in Nashik. He works with Life Insurance of India. “My training for NDM 2026 was quite good. Kartik Karkera, the winner of the race, trained with me,” he said.

He completed the run in 2:20:09, securing a sixth position among marathon elites. “The first half of my race went very well. But in the second half I started to feel tightness in my legs due to cramps and had to slow down a tad,” he said.

He is also due to participate in TCS world 10k at Bengaluru in April.

Ashok Bind also mostly survives on his prize money from podium finishes. The runner, originally from Uttar Pradesh, has been securing podium finishes in many of the races recently.

At TMM 2026, he had finished second overall in the open category of the marathon race and first in his age group of 18 to 24 years.

Ashok has been running for about 10 years, initially doing steeple chase and middle-distance races.

“My training for NDM was quite good,” he said. He had previously told this blog that he trains under O.P. Jaisha, a veteran marathon runner, who continues to hold the women national record in marathon.

“My run at NDM went off quite well. The weather and the route, both were good,” he said. Ashok finished the race in 2:28:25, securing a second position in the open category of the marathon. It was also a new personal best timing compared with his previous best of 2:30:11 at the 2024 edition of the New Delhi Marathon in 2024, when he secured an overall third position and first in his age category of 35 to 45 years.

He is likely to run TCS World 10k, due on April 26, 2026.

In November 2025, running the 100 km race at the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships held at Thailand, Jayadrath Singh finished fifth among men with a timing of 7:51.

“The race was quite tough because it started at 10 pm. I am not used to running in the nights,” said Jayadrath, a long-distance runner from the Indian Air Force, currently posted in Chennai. The warm weather in Chennai did help with the humidity in Thailand but he did suffer from nausea during the 100 km race. Ultrarunners are wont to suffer from gut issues during the race if hydration and nutrition are not ideal.

Jayadrath, originally from Rishikesh in Uttarakhand started running in 2019.

“This is the seventh year, I am running NDM. This time around I had a very good race,” he said. Jayadrath finished the run in 2:42:04, securing a sixth position in the open category of marathon and second position in his age category of 30 to 40 years. Also, this finish was his new personal record, an improvement from his previous best of 2:43:41, which he had set at the 2025 edition of NDM.

Jayadrath will be participating in Boston Marathon 2026, slated to be held on April 20, 2026. “I have taken a break from work mainly to train in the hilly terrain of Rishikesh for Boston Marathon,” he told this blog.

Three weeks ahead of Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026, ultrarunner Binay Sah ended up with an ankle injury. He went off training to help the recovery but the time available until TMM race day was not sufficient for a complete recovery. He finished the race in 3:01 hours.

But he was able to do well at the IDFC First Bank Indian Navy Half Marathon held in New Delhi on February 1, 2026. He finished the race in 1:20:20

“My ankle injury took a month’s time to recover,” he said.

Running the New Delhi Marathon 2026, Binay was able to achieve a new personal record. He finished in 2:43:05, securing a lead position in his age category of 40 to 50 years and ninth overall in the open category of the marathon race.

Having suffered a couple of setbacks, Binay was all set for the New Delhi Marathon. “This time, I also trained for the U turns on the NDM route,” he said.

The NDM route, though mostly flat, has many turns including several U turns.

Binay has represented India is many ultrarunning events held within the country as well as overseas. In November 2025, he was due to run the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships held in Thailand. But in early November, he contracted dengue and had to pull out of the race.

In 2022, Binay had a health scare. He was due to leave for Spartathlon, 246 km ultramarathon held in Greece in September every year. “I had to go to Fortis Hospital in Delhi for a fitness certificate before I left for the race. The cardiologist, a friend, casually did a 2D Echo and the whole story changed. He found a hole in my heart,” he said. Binay was asked to pull out of Spartathalon that year and was advised to go in for ASD Closure, a medical procedure to rectify the problem.

Next on cards for Binay is the 50 km at the Masters Meet in Delhi on March 15. This event runs concurrently with the IAU 50 km World Championships, initially slated to be held in December 2025 but postponed to March 2026 mainly due to the bad air quality in the capital city.

Elite runner Ashwini Jadhav comes from the same place the veteran marathon runner Jyoti Gawate hails from – Parbhani in Maharashtra.

Jyoti has been a podium finisher in many of the leading marathons including Mumbai Marathon and the New Delhi Marathon over the last few years. Jyoti holds the national record for 100 km with a timing of 8:20:07 hours set at the IAU 100 km World Championships at Berlin in 2022.

Ashwini, 21, trains with Jyoti under their coach Ravi Raskatla. She has been running for the last eight years and took to marathon running in the last three years.

“My training for NDM 2026 was not very good. I was not well. I have been running too many races and there has been no time for recovery,” she said. Ashwini, Jyoti and many other runners around the country mainly survive on the prize money from their podium wins. At TMM 2026, Jyoti had finished sixth among Indian elite women.

“At NDM this time my run was okay, far from my best. The route is good and the weather was excellent,” she said. Ashwini finished third among elite women with a timing of 2:56:59. At the 2025 edition of the New Delhi Marathon, Ashwini had secured a personal best with her finish of 2:50:48 and a third position among elite women.

Having finished her BSc degree, she has now secured admission for BPEd.

With age on her side, Ashwini believes she can improve her marathon timings further.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)

(All photos provided by athletes)

(With inputs from MySamay.in)

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TMM 2026 — Musings

Ethiopian runners Tadu Abate Deme and Yeshi Kalayu Chekole were the winners of the 2026 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon, held on January 18, 2026.

Tadu Deme won the race with a finish of two hours, nine minutes and 55 seconds.

In the women’s elite race, Yeshi secured the top position with a timing of 2:25:13.

Among Indian elite runners, Kartik Karkera won the race with a finish of 2:19:55. Among women Sanjivani Jadhav won with a timing of 2:49:02.

This year, the number of runners on the streets of Mumbai participating in Tata Mumbai Marathon was higher compared to previous editions of the race.

The blog spoke to a select few runners about their experience in achieving their podium finishes.

Ashok Bind

Ashok Bind, originally from Uttar Pradesh, commenced his journey in sports through steeple chase and middle-distance running. He has been running for about 10 years, often securing overall wins or age category podium finishes.

The 23-year-old runner, now living in Bengaluru, says he trains under O.P. Jaisha, India’s celebrated marathon runner. She continues to hold the national record in marathon for her 2:34:43 finish at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

“My training for TMM went off as expected and I was able to do the race at Mumbai well,” he said.

At the 2025 edition of Wipro Bengaluru Marathon, Ashok finished eighth overall and first in his age category of 18 to 25 years with a timing of 1:14:41. At the PhonePe Bengaluru Midnight Marathon Run, Ashok finished second in the 20-miler race.

Ashok survives on his prize money earnings from his podium finishes and a private job that he does in Bengaluru.

At TMM 2026, Ashok finished the marathon in 2:30:14, his personal best, securing an overall second position in the open category and top position in his age category of 18 to 24 years.

He is due to participate in New Delhi Marathon to be held on February 22, 2026 in the national capital.

With age on his side, Ashok believes he can improve his timing substantially.

Manoj R S

Twenty-six-year-old Manoj R S has been running since 2018, distances ranging from 5 km, 10 km to half marathon.

“This is the first time I did the full marathon distance. I wanted to try something new,” he said. In the process of training for the marathon he did a weekly mileage of 80-120 km.

During the race, he maintained a pace of 3:28 to 3:34 minutes per km. “My pace suffered a bit in the last 7 km stretch of the marathon,” Manoj said. He finished his debut marathon in 2:30:28, securing overall third position in the open category and second position in his age category of 25 to 29 years.

Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, he is currently based in Ernakulam in Kerala. Manoj’s earnings come from a part-time job at an academy in Ernakulam and the prize money that he gets from many of his podium finishes in various races that he participates.

Prior to Tata Mumbai Marathon, he won the second position in the half marathon race at the Thalassery Heritage Run 2026 held on January 4, 2026 finishing in 1.06:28.

“My run at TMM was my first experience at running a marathon race. I think, I was short on mileage training,” he said adding that he has room for improvement.

He is due to run the Federal Bank Kochi Marathon on February 8, 2026.

Vinothkumar S

Originally from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Vinothkumar S now resides in Ooty. He has been running for several years now and often securing podium positions.

Vinothkumar is also among those athletes who survive on prize money that he earns from his podium finishes. In 2023, he secured top position in his age category of 30 to 39 years at Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon with a timing of 2:36:18. The following year, he again topped his age category with an improved timing of 2:32:17. His personal best in a marathon is 2:25:45, which he set at the Tamil Marathon 2023 held in Chennai.

At TMM 2026, his target was 2.26 but during the race he missed out on consuming gels. “The humidity in Mumbai does pose a challenge as I mostly stay and train in Ooty,” he said. Also, the crowd of runners, mostly half marathon runners, towards the last few kilometers of the route necessitates dodging to get ahead towards the finish line.

At TMM 2026, Vinothkumar finished the race in 2:35, securing a lead position in his age category of 40 to 44 years and eighth overall in the open category. He is also due to run the Federal Bank Kochi Marathon on February 8, 2026.

Saurav Ranjan

Ultrarunner Saurav Ranjan, who represents India in key international running events, had no plans to run the 2026 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Returning from two major ultrarunning events – the IAU 24 Hour World Championships at Albi, France in October 2025 and the IAU 100 kilometer Asia & Oceania Championships at Bangkok, Thailand in November 2025 – Saurav was on a break from training.

Training for these two events was extremely intense with a major focus on building endurance mileage. “I was off training after a rigorous schedule for a few months prior to the two events that I was part of,” Saurav said adding that he did just a couple of long runs as part of the preparation for TMM 2026.

“I had run the 2024 edition of TMM finishing in 2:48:33. Weather in Mumbai is humid but as ultrarunners we cannot complain about weather,” he said.

This time, the route was good and the overall organisation was good with adequate hydration points, he said. “I was able to sustain the pace of 3:44 to 3:51 minutes per km. I think I benefited from the extensive training that I put in for my ultrarunning events,” he said.

Saurav finished his TMM 2026 in 2:41:33, securing a third position in his age category of 30-34 years.

Early February, he is due to compete in the 60 km BSF Run – Road to Heaven in Dholavira in Gujarat.

Vijayaraghavan Venugopal

In November 2025, Vijayaraghavan Venugopal completed his six-star World Marathon Major circuit at the New York City Marathon. He completed it with a personal best timing of 2:47:57.

A sub-three marathon runner, Vijayaraghavan has not only been managing a time efficient finish to his marathons but also bettering it.

“I didn’t specifically train for Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026. I did one run of 30 km and did not participate in any race in the interim,” he said. 

At Mumbai Marathon, Vijayaraghavan found the holding area for marathon runners better organised compared with previous years despite the increased number of runners for this distance.

“The addition of coastal road to the marathon route made it more challenging as there was added elevation,” he said. Mumbai’s weather, often humid, was not so much of a bother as much as the air quality, which was quite bad, he said.

While hydration support for marathon runners was mostly well laid out, there could be some more aid stations on the coastal road and the Bandra sea link, some of the lonely stretches along the route, Vijayaraghavan said.

Co-Founder and CEO of Fast & Up, a sports nutrition brand, Vijayaraghavan trains under Canada’s Malindi Elmore, an Olympian middle-distance runner, triathlete and a marathon runner.

At TMM 20206, Vijayaraghavan finished the marathon in 2:50:14 securing the top position in his age category of 50 to 54 years.

After two major marathons – New York City Marathon and Tata Mumbai Marathon – Vijayaraghavan is due to run the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Major Age Group World Championship run at Cape Town in South Africa in May this year.

Reenu Sandhu

Track and field athlete Reenu Sandhu won the gold in the women’s open category of the half marathon at the 2026 edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Last year Reenu was part of the elite runners for the marathon race but had to pull out of the race at around 27th kilometre.

Reenu, originally from Haryana, is a sub-inspector with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and is posted in Bhopal. A track and field athlete she has been running 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, half marathon and the full marathon.

“This time I chose to run the half marathon. Mumbai’s weather is too tough for the marathon. Also, the half marathon race starts much earlier than the elite marathon race,” she said. The marathon for elite runners commences at 7 am.

Reenu finished the half marathon race in 1:17:59, winning the women’s open category gold.

Sarswati Rai

In 2025, Sarswati Rai, the runner from Kalimpong, was the winner among women in the open category Tata Mumbai Marathon. This time around, she had to settle for the third position in open category.

Though her training was good, a niggling knee issue was hampering her running. Encouraged by her husband, she started running about 11 years ago and has been securing podium finishes in most of the races she participates.

“This time the change in the route for full marathon did pose a challenge. There were too many elevations,” she said. This time around, the marathon route included stretches of the newly opened coastal road, which has a few added elevations.

For a runner from Kalimpong, Mumbai’s humidity is also an issue to contend with.

Sarswati finished her TMM run with a timing of 3:12:10, nearly two minutes more than her 2025 finish, which secured her a gold in open category.

She is now due to run the Bordermen Marathon to be held on February 22, 2026 from Golden Gate Amritsar to JCP Attari.

Sunmbul Rahman

Kolkata-based runner, Sunmbul Rahman, has over the past few years completed the seven World Marathon Majors, travelling to each of these seven cities – Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, Tokyo and finally Sydney.

Nevertheless, she was not comfortable doing the Mumbai Marathon. “I ran Mumbai Marathon in 2018 and 2019 and was not happy with my timings.”

“Having done three of the four Procam Slam races, I had no choice but to do Mumbai Marathon. And what a year I chose to run – when the organisers added the coastal road in the marathon route and with it the added elevations,” she said.

She completed the distance in 3:42:21, securing a second position in her age group of 50 to 54 years. With this she also completed her first Procam Slam.

Sunmbul is also now a trained nutritionist. Training under coach Ashok Nath for the last few years has helped her running immensely.

“Mumbai Marathon to me was a nemesis. I am happy to have faced my nemesis and ended up with a fairly good run,” she said.

On her World Marathon Majors circuit, she is now waiting for Cape Town to be added to the list.

Kranti Salvi

Mumbai’s Kranti Salvi is a regular at many running events either as an ambassador or a runner, who often returns with podium finishes.

She has been running the marathon at Mumbai Marathon for several years. She chose to run with a cause – that of saving Sanjay Gandhi National Park and raising voice against the unchecked development being allowed inside the national park.

“I wore the banner “Hands Off Our Forest” on my back. There were at least 600 runners who chose to run with this banner additionally apart from their timing bib,” Kranti said.

“With nearly 70,000 participants on the ground, the Mumbai Marathon is perhaps the most powerful platform in the city to create awareness,” she said.

The banner that many runners wore during the Mumbai Marathon

Her race went off well and she finished in 3:59:33, securing a second position in her age category of 55 to 59 years.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)

(Photo courtesy the runners)

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2026

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For the last couple of years, Shyam G. Menon linked a music video in the New Year wishes post on this blog.

In his absence (Shyam passed away on August 31, 2025), his close friend R. Rajagopal has suggested the cover version of Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love by Uschi Hollauf and the Purkersdorf Allstars.

Uschi Hollauf is from Austria. She has her own band called Three Girl Harmony.

Illustration by Shyam G Menon

Purkersdorf Allstars is a collective of local musicians and singers from the Austrian town of Purkersdorf, who perform together in local events including the annual Open Air festival.

Robert Palmer was an English singer. Addicted to Love was one of his hit songs.