Among Indian runners, Gunjan Khurana and Kartik Joshi were the fastest in their respective gender categories

At the 2023 edition of the Comrades Marathon held annually in South Africa, the Indian contingent represented the largest participation from outside the host nation. Over 400 runners from India registered for the race and a little under 400 of them turned up to run.

Gunjan Khurana, ultrarunner from Surat, was the fastest among Indian women at Comrades this time. She covered the distance of 87.701 kilometres in eight hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds. Among Indian men, Kartik Joshi was the fastest with a timing of 7:26:34. Both these timings are the fastest yet for Indian men and women for Comrades but the distance this time was lower than previous years.

The official distance of this year’s Comrades Marathon was about 2.2 km shorter than last year’s 89.885 km. The official distance for Comrades Marathon varies slightly year to year. The Comrades route alternates between Pietermaritzburg to Durban (the downhill version) and Durban to Pietermaritzburg (the uphill version).

This year, the number of entries from India was the highest among international runners. Over 400 runners registered for the race from India. Media reports said about 300 of them finished the race.

The number of Indian entries are expected to increase further, according to Satish Gujaran, Mumbai-based runner and coach, who has completed more than ten Comrades marathon consecutively. “I think 2024 onward runners from tier two and tier three cities will register. I am seeing runners from smaller cities in Maharashtra such as Bhusawal and Sambhaji Nagar registering for this event,” Satish said.

Asked about the growing popularity of Comrades in India’s running community, Satish attributed it to two mutually linked and synergic factors. First, Indian runners feel welcome at the event; they get good crowd support. Second, any event that treats runners so, makes every participant an ambassador for the event. “ The feeling you get after running Comrades is hard to explain,” Satish said. Other factors like it being an ultramarathon and among major global races, perhaps the one located closest to India (and therefore accessed easier), also count.

In 2019, Gunjan, who represents India in ultrarunning events, had finished the Comrades Marathon in 9:47:42. This time around she trained quite well for the race. “There were 23 runners from Surat for Comrades this time,” she said.

Most Comrades runners do long hill runs as part of their training to prepare for the rolling hills along the route in South Africa. “We Surat runners did three long hill runs at Kalibel and Saputara of distances of 40 km, 45 km and 55 km. As it was very warm, we would start our run at 10 pm and finish in the morning,” she said.

Gunjan trained under runner and coach Hemant Beniwal. At Comrades, she did not want to focus on timing as that approach does not work well with her.

“Comrades is a very well-organized race with continuous cheering, ample hydration and nutrition support throughout the route,” she said. “When the race started, it was quite cold but as the sun came out the weather improved,” she said.

Gunjan has qualified for the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships to be held at Bengaluru on July 30, 2023. Post-Comrades, she has been focusing her training on this upcoming race. Gunjan and Kartik Joshi have been named by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to participate in this event.

Pune-based Yogesh Satav has been running since 2015. This was his first Comrades run and he finished the distance in 7:48:44 earning a Bill Rowan medal.

“This was the first time I was racing a distance beyond the full marathon,” he said. Yogesh, also a coach, started training for Comrades after Tata Mumbai Marathon in January and Tata Ultra in February. “We did a four-month training for Comrades including three long runs of 56 km, 65 km and 70 km,” he said.

A paediatrician by profession, Yogesh had a pace target of 5:20 per km but ended up bettering it slightly to 5:18. “I had no physical problems during the run but had mental issues,” he said. During the race, he had to battle a low feeling but overcame it after a few kilometres.

Having done the downhill version of Comrades Marathon, Yogesh plans to go for the uphill version due in 2025. His wife Rashmi Satav also did the Comrades this year.

Yogesh is into triathlons as well. Last year, he did the Kazakhstan Ironman, originally slated to be held in 2021 but cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. He has done a number of triathlons including Kolhapur Triathlon 2018, Goa Ironman 2019, Bergman Kolhapur 2022, Ironman (full) South Africa 2022 and a few Olympic distance triathlons.

Next on the cards for Yogesh is Satara Hill Marathon 2023, slated to be held in early September. It will be followed by the Bergman Triathlon at Pune. “This time, 42 of my trainees are participating in this event,” he said.

He will then focus on training for the 2024 Mumbai Marathon. “I would like to improve my timing to sub-three hours,” he said.

For Deepak Budhrani, the 2023 edition of the Comrades Marathon was his fifth finish. Of the five finishes, three were downhill versions and two uphill versions.

Deepak finished the run in 8:49:55. “This is the best timing among my five Comrades,” he said. With this finish, Deepak secured his second Bill Rowan medal.

The Bill Rowan medal was introduced in 2000. The medal is named after the winner of the first Comrades Marathon in 1921. The medal is awarded to runners finishing in 7:30 hours to sub-nine hours. “I am hooked to Comrades. I will continue to run it for many years as long as I can,” he said.

Dhanraj Helambe, a doctor practicing in Pune, curated his own training plan for Comrades, his first attempt at this ultramarathon in South Africa.

He has been running for the past 5-6 years but he is also into cycling and swimming. According to him, his training went well with adequate mileage during weekdays and weekends. His hill runs were at Ghoradeshwar Hills along with long runs including the 50 km Tata Ultra at Lonavala, 65 km at Kaas and a 100 km at Pune Ultra.

Dhanraj completed his Comrades run in 9:13:54.

Once back, he has been cycling and swimming. These activities have helped in his post-run recovery.

Dhanraj wants to focus on triathlons. “I want to do the Durban Ironman, which is held one week before Comrades,” he said. He is also planning to do Ironman Kalmar in Sweden. “To train for these events, I plan to do some local triathlons including Goa Ironman, Kolhapur Triathlon and Bergman Triathlon,” he said.

Anil Malik, 61, started running about 10 years ago when confronted with a health issue. Active in sports during his schooling and college years in Rajasthan, he ended up in a sedentary lifestyle routine until a health warning prompted him to take up some activity.

Soon he was running events, occasionally winning age category podium finishes. He is a regular at Mumbai Marathon, Tata Ultra, Vasai Virar Municipal Marathon among others.

In 2019, he completed the uphill version of Comrades Marathon.

“I train myself. My simple theory is to do varying speed runs for four to five days a week. There is no need for a huge mileage,” he said. His weekend long runs are also at target pace.

Anil went into the race at Pietermaritzburg with a target of 9:30 finish. “I took a conservative approach. For up to 75 km distance, I would run for three kilometres and take a two-minute walk break. In the last stretch, I took a one-minute walk break between every kilometre,” he said. Anil finished the ultra-distance in 9:33:37.

For Bengaluru-based ultrarunner Bindu Juneja, the Comrades Marathon was long overdue. To qualify for this year’s Comrades, she did the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon in 3:46:08 and thereby secured a good corral.

“I wanted to train for Comrades from January onwards but I had to divert my attention to train for a 24-hour run that was due on March 23, 2023. I am keen to qualify and be part of the Indian team for the upcoming IAU 24-Hour World Championship (due to be held in December 2023 at Chinese Taipei),” she said. At the said race, she was unable to meet the qualifying mark.

“I was left with just one and a half months to train for Comrades. I had to first recover from the 24-hour run and that took time,” she said. She did a short, dedicated dose of training including a long run at Turahalli. She has to divide her time between training for ultramarathons, working as a teacher and managing her home.

She reached South Africa three days before the race but was plagued by glute and IT band pain. During the run, at around 55 km, she found she had a chafing injury in her inner thigh and that only got progressively worse as the kilometres went by. At the end of the run, she was in agony. Bindu completed the run in 9:57:20.

Two weeks later she was back to her training runs. Her training will now focus on the 24-hour run; one is due in September 2023. “I would like to take a shot at qualifying for the Chinese Taipei event,” she said.

A fitness enthusiast, Pune-based Rahul Kulkarni and friends were into cycling and running and were happy doing short distances over weekends. But his curiosity got the better of him when he found runners training for the 2018 edition of the Mumbai Marathon. Unfortunately, the slots for half marathon were already full.

“We searched for events and found PRBM (Pune Running Beyond Myself) and registered for it. Later, I also did the Kolhapur Duathlon,” Rahul said. He started training with a coach and soon learnt about triathlon, mainly Ironman.

For somebody who was content doing short training runs and cycling sessions not long ago, he found himself moving from event to event (marathons and triathlons) including the Ladakh Marathon, Kazakhstan Ironman, Colombo Ironman, Langkawi Ironman and local triathlons.

Rahul is due to participate in Ultraman Florida in February 2024. Ultraman is an endurance triathlon event spread over three days. Ultraman Florida covers a distance of 517.5 km including a 10 km open water swim, a 423 km bicycle ride and an 84 km ultramarathon run. The bicycle segment is divided in two phases – 147 km held on the first day of the competition after the swim, and 274 km on the second day.

“After I completed Kazakhstan Ironman last year, I joined Kaustubh Radkar’s team to train for the upcoming ultraman,” Rahul said. A former national level swimmer, Kaustubh has competed in a large number of endurance events, mainly triathlons and marathons. He has completed 34 Ironman events, one Ultraman and earned the six-star World Marathon Major medal (which entails running six World Marathon Majors). Kaustubh has been coaching recreational runners and triathletes for the past few years.

Rahul’s training for Comrades went off well and he had a good run at the event with a finish of 10:14:04. “We were seven of us from Kaustubh’s team. I will definitely go back. It is such a celebratory event, akin to a carnival. People come from villages with food and drinks to the route and join in the cheering of runners,” he said.

Yasmin Gulab, a resident of Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, took up running about five years ago as a means to lose the weight she had gained during her pregnancy. Her first run was a 10 km race at an event in Coimbatore sponsored by Information Evolution, a company she co-founded and is now president of.

She started enrolling for 10 km and half marathon runs, winning a few podium positions along the way.

The pandemic induced lockdown of the subsequent years prompted her to take up running seriously. She joined Kannan Sundarajan’s KaysFIT Academy for training. Coach Kay as he is known introduced Yasmin to Comrades. “I started training in 2021 but suffered an ankle fracture and had to stop running,” Yasmin said.

After recovering from her injury, she had to start all over again. “I had to get back to walking and then slowly progress from 5 km and 10 km to 21 km runs,” she said.

In January 2023, she ran the full marathon at Tata Mumbai Marathon to qualify for the 2023 Comrades. Her 4:15:09 finish at this iconic marathon helped her to qualify for the South African ultramarathon.

Her training for Comrades was executed with caution as she did not want to get injured. “My weekly mileage was quite conservative, around 80-90 km and my long runs were not in excess of 45 km. But I compensated my low mileage with strength training,” she said. As part of her training, she participated in the 60 km category at Ooty Ultra. She finished the distance in 7:52:11 winning the women’s race and in the process setting a course record for women.

“I even trained my gut. I would eat and immediately set out for a run. I managed to stay injury free throughout the training period,” Yasmin said. However, before she was to leave for South Africa, she fell ill. After recovering, she left for the race.

“The run went off quite well. As it was a downhill version, I did have some issues with my ankle but nothing unfortunate. I finished the run in 10:21:42 against my coach’s broad target of 10:30 hours,” she said.

Training for Comrades, according to Yasmin, was a life changing experience. “When I crossed the finish line at Comrades, I had a feeling of gratitude. My entire family (husband, son, daughter and her mother) were there at the finish line,” she said. Barring some soreness for a day, her recovery has been good.

The next race on the cards is Bengaluru Marathon 2023 in which she is doing a half marathon. “My focus will be Comrades and along the way I will do Tata Mumbai Marathon. I would like to improve my timing here,” she said.

Vishakhapatnam-based Madhuri Palli, returning to running in 2023 after recovering from an injury, was keen to do a major event. She chose Comrades Marathon and after conferring with her coach Ashok Nath she commenced her training program, curated by her coach.

“The first six weeks of training focused on mileage at an easy pace. I participated in a 50 km event at Vizag Ultra but missed the qualifying time by one minute. I had to do Kolkata Marathon in February to qualify,” she said.

The second phase of her training entailed lowering mileage but stepping up the pace. This was followed by tranche training, in which a long run is split into many parts. Madhuri was asked to run four times a day – 5 AM to 7 AM, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM, 12 noon to 1 PM and 3 PM to 4 PM. “It was aimed at strengthening our determination for the race. This training method is really a game changer,” Madhuri said.

Her hectic training had to be executed in the midst of her busy work schedule as a radiologist at a hospital.

At Comrades, the timing is calculated from the time the start gun goes off. By the time, Madhuri crossed the starting mat, she had already lost eight minutes. “When we started it was cold and my feet was numb. After about 15 kilometres when the sun came out, I started to feel better,” she said.

In most running events, the distance markers show the mileage covered for much of the route. But at Comrades, the markers indicate the number of kilometres left for finish.

“The Comrades route is a series of rolling hills. Although it was a downhill version, there are a number of uphills to tackle along with downhills,” she said. The best part of Comrades is the constant company of runners and the cheering from local residents all along the route. “You never feel alone during the entire 90 odd kilometres,” she said. Madhuri finished the run in 10:25:57. “The credit for finishing this run goes completely to Ash (Ashok Nath),” she said. Ashok Nath has been running for many years. He has run the Boston Marathon, Comrades and the World Marathon Majors.

Madhuri’s physical recovery was good though she had some swelling in her feet for a couple of days. “But mentally it took a while for me to recover. It took two weeks for the post-race blues to go,” she said. She now wants to attempt the triathlon, mainly Ironman.

Ashish Puntambekar took to physical activity when confronted with the health issues that accompanied a sedentary lifestyle. An IT professional, Ashish was hemmed in by the pressures of the industry that he was associated with, resulting in health indices going off the normal range.

“The first 15-20 years of my career were hyper growth years for the IT industry leaving me with very little time for anything. That resulted in body weight issues and cholesterol going out of bounds,” he said.

Forced to take up physical activity, Ashish took to cycling inside the Pune University campus and running on a treadmill. He eventually took to running outside, initially doing short runs and gradually increasing the weekday and weekend mileages.

“After I joined Kaustubh Radkar’s team there was some structure to my training,” he said.

He went on to do Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon.

“I did five months of dedicated training for Comrades. I did two 50 km runs, one 65 km hill run, three back to back 30 km and three back to back 21 km along with strength exercises,” Ashish said.

He had a broad target of finishing within 10 to 11 hours. He finished in 10:31:24. “My priority was to complete the run and I did not want to focus on timing as it was my first Comrades. Kaustubh paced me for most of the distance barring the last few kilometres when I was able to push ahead towards the finish line,” he said.

He plans to do the uphill version of Comrades, which is due to be held in 2025.

He has an eye on triathlons but he needs to work on swimming as it is his weak spot in the triathlon.

Pune-based Rashmi Satav is into running as well as triathlons. “I have been running since 2017 after my child was born. I initially started with local running events of short distances,” she said. Soon, she started running the half marathon, full marathon and got into the triathlon.

“I have a migraine issue. I cannot tolerate long hours in the sun. I was worried about doing a full Ironman,” she said. She completed the Kazakhstan Ironman in 14:19:31 hours.

She commenced her training for Comrades early though she had to intersperse it with racing the 2023 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon.

“As part of Comrades training, I ran 50 km at Tata Ultra, did a few night runs at Lavassa and a few 30 kms,” she said. Just a few days before Comrades, she got injured and had to take physiotherapy sessions.

“The run was superb. You get to know why it is the best event. The vibe, the energy and the support are amazing. One is never alone along the entire route,” she said. Her injury did act up but with the help of physiotherapists along the route she was able to continue.

“The crowd just takes one through to the finish,” Rashmi said. She finished in 11:43:39.

Her next endeavour is to improve her marathon timing to reach the Boston qualifying mark for her age group. “My husband Yogesh has already qualified for Boston. I want to get to the qualifying mark so that we can register at the same time for Boston Marathon,” she said.

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