Breaking the national record in the marathon has become a matter of no other option left

The longest standing national record in Indian athletics at present, the late Shivnath Singh’s 2:12:00 for the men’s marathon set in 1978, has become the target in mind for Indian elite marathoners.

The reason for the emergent urgency in addressing the national record is that unlike before, when qualifying standards for major international championships were short of the Indian national record, performance levels globally now are such that qualifying standards require to complete the marathon in timing that is faster than India’s national record. So, breaking the national record has become the only way forward for Indian elite marathoners. As one elite marathoner put it, “ there is no other option. The city marathons of Delhi and Mumbai will keep happening and the best among us at that given instance, will get a podium finish. But the national record has to be surpassed for the sport to move forward.’’

Most elite marathoners one speaks to admit to breaking the national record being a private and a larger, shared project but they say it such that it doesn’t weigh on their mind like a burden capable of dampening current performance. The goal has to sit lightly; a goal and yet not an obsessive, heavyweight one. Nobody sees breaking the national record as an impossible task because in today’s marathon environment with Kelvin Kiptum’s world record standing at 2:00:35 and timings by foreign elite runners at nodal Indian events itself being less than 2:10, a timing of 2:12:00 is nothing. As an athlete this blog spoke to put it (tad philosophically perhaps), India sits geographically in the middle with the centres of African running like Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to the west and Asia’s power house in running – Japan – to the east. So, it should be possible to improve. And yet, the wait has been long and there is evidently a puzzle to crack.

At least one coach of Indian elite athletes told this blog that a challenging aspect in the marathon was nutrition, especially dietary supplements. Elite athletes have to be very careful when it comes to their nutrition; they have to get the best nutrient intake for their sport without courting any prohibited substance. Such sports related food technology is considerably developed abroad. As example, the coach pointed to how Indian athletes in some disciplines other than the marathon elect to train overseas for long periods of time. This angle found empathy with some elite marathoners too. In fact, a common factor one finds when talking to Indian elite athletes, post-race at major events, is this trajectory of them performing well till 30-35 kilometres and struggling thereafter. “ I don’t know why. We do well for three fourths of a race and then lose out,’’ an elite runner said.

To an extent, this may be seen in the difference between the Indian national records in half marathon and the full, and their respective counterparts at the world level. The Indian national record in the half marathon is 1:00:30 (Avinash Sable in 2020) while the world record is 57 minutes and 31 seconds (Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda in 2021). Double the distance to 42.2 kilometres and the difference in timing between the national and world records is almost four times higher. Training in environments linked to a culture of endurance sports is another option. There is talk of at least a few elite marathoners potentially training in north Africa ahead of the next Olympics.

While all these are possible steps to improve, it still doesn’t answer why 2:12:00 has stayed so difficult to break. After all, as anyone would argue, the late Shivnath Singh had very few of the present-day technological advantages, sponsors and launch pads and even if the national record per se is taken off the equation, 2:12:00 is nowadays no big time in the larger marathon world. Among Indian athletes, the closest anyone has got to, to that mark, is Gopi Thonakal with his 2:13:39 at the 2019 Seoul Marathon. However, there are two other points that appear to hold relevance for India’s 2:12:00 journey, if one were to make it a pilgrimage.

First, although India has hundreds of marathons happening annually, an event that is a proper confluence of weather conditions, excellent course and race support is still hard to find. Where a flat, fast course is available, the weather may be tough; where the weather is good, the course still twists and turns or has gradients – so on. Indeed, for many observers of the sport, it is a puzzle why event organizers in India haven’t sculpted one perfect, fast course. Or, why no city appears to pride itself in having such a course to its credit with a race in the best part of the year. Or why not even a superb, flat, fast paced loop of modest mileage hasn’t been devised and maintained for a 42.2 kilometre-annual race that is a celebration of improved timing.

Second, elites are typically groomed from a pool of top-notch talent. By that logic, to breach 2:12:00 and improve further, there has to be first a big enough pool of people who run 2:20:00 and faster. It is by grooming this pool and competition within the pool that still better timings may be had. The argument even today is that such a pool, in India, is only growing. It is not big enough. Still, the coach this blog spoke to, said that he has the minimum number of elite runners required at hand, and was confident of producing results. Elite athletes were even more confident. Somebody just has to crack the record. Once that is done, they viewed getting past 2:12:00 like a longstanding collective mental block, flushed open. “ I am sure we have people who will do 2:07 and 2:08,’’ one of the elite athletes this blog spoke to, said.

There is one more reason – an unconfirmed but certainly speculated one – why breaking 2:12 has gathered a bit of urgency. Besides the fact that 2:12:00 is now slower than the qualifying mark for top international competitions, there is the fear that a sport which struggles for so long to break said barrier may wane in priority for national selectors piecing together teams for major competitions. Indian marathoners can’t risk having that happen to the marathon.  

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)