A long-distance runner for the past several years, Mumbai-based Pervin Batliwala, is often a podium finisher in many of the races that she participates in.

Her list of successful completions includes the 88 to 90-kilometre-long Comrades Marathon, held in South Africa every year, the 72-km Khardung La Challenge in Ladakh and the six-star World Marathon Major circuit (Berlin Marathon, Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, London Marathon, New York City Marathon and Tokyo Marathon).

A few years ago, Pervin took up swimming also as a recreational sport. In 2019, she attempted her first race in open water. At that time, she had signed up for a two-kilometer swim at the Goa Swimathon, organized by Enduro Sports. She completed the swim but outside the assigned cut-off time. In February 2024, Pervin opted to do the one-kilometer swim and this time she finished with an age category podium. She writes about her experience at this event.

I started swimming during my college years. About five years ago, the interest acquired a more serious tone. That said, training for a swimming race was difficult in Mumbai as I am not a member of any of the pools.

I had to depend on friends to sign me up for a session or two at their respective pools. Most often it was my friend Zarir Baliwalla. An excellent swimmer, he would ask me to accompany him for training sessions at the Breach Candy pool of which he is a member. Besides such access to pools for training, the 2024 Goa Swimathon posed another challenge. Unlike in 2019, the gap between the Mumbai Marathon and the Swimathon was less; just two weeks. I therefore opted for the one-kilometer race. I was however confident that with minimum training I would be able to do this distance.

I like open water swimming and am quite comfortable with it. In 2019, a few days before the race, Zarir had taken us into the water at Goa to help us get acquainted with swimming in the sea. I enjoyed it thoroughly. This year, I landed in Goa a couple of days before the event. The race was at the Miramar beach where the Ironman triathlon race is also held. I had signed up for a 45-minute training camp to help me acclimatize to the event and the waters. I had not done any open water training for the 2024 race. But like I said, I am comfortable with the medium.

At Goa, I opted for basic swim wear and not the rash guard as most swimmers were wont to. I got bitten by a jelly fish; though nothing serious. Nevertheless, my race went off quite well. I enjoyed my time in the sea thoroughly. I finished the one-kilometer distance in 30 minutes,34 seconds, significantly better than my timing during my training sessions which used to range from 39 to 41 minutes. I finished with a second-place podium in my age category of 60 years and above. I was quite stoked by the time I took to finish. With minimum training I was able to pull of this timing. It prompts me to attempt the two-kilometer race again, next year. I want to train in freestyle swimming. Right now, I do the breaststroke. Freestyle swimming will help me further with timing efficiency.

(The author, Pervin Batliwala, is a retired corporate executive based in Mumbai)

Marathon world record holder and his coach were killed on the spot

As abruptly as his world record burst on to the planet’s marathon scene, Kelvin Kiptum is gone.

The world record holder in the men’s marathon and his Rwandese coach, Gervais Hakizimana, were killed in a road accident in Kenya on February 11, 2024, news reports said. The Kenyan athlete was driving the vehicle when he appears to have lost control. The two men were killed on the spot. A third passenger – a woman – was injured and rushed to hospital.

According to the Kenyan edition of The Nation, Kiptum was driving the Toyota Premio with Gervais and a lady identified as Sharon Kosgey aboard. They were headed to Eldoret. The accident happened at 11 PM, Sunday, in the Kaptagat area along the Elgeyo Marakwet-Ravine Road. The local police commander said that Kiptum lost control of the vehicle, veered off the road and hit a big tree before landing in a ditch 60 metres away. Sharon escaped with serious injuries.

Kiptum, 24, was the only person so far to run the marathon in a timing below two hours and one minute in a record-eligible race. He had achieved the feat at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, covering the 42.2 kilometre-distance in two hours and 35 seconds. The previous record of 2:01:09 was set by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. In the process, he also improved the course record at Chicago by over three minutes. Kiptum’s world record was ratified by World Athletics just two days ago.

At the time the new global mark was set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, it had been a bolt from the blue for most elite and amateur marathoners and followers of the sport, used as they were to the discipline’s domination by Kipchoge. Kiptum, who owns three of the seven fastest timings in the marathon, also held the record for the fastest ever marathon debut (2022 Valencia Marathon). News reports in the wake of his demise said that Kiptum had been hoping to become the first man to run the marathon in under two hours in race conditions at the upcoming Rotterdam Marathon.

Both Kiptum and Kipchoge had been named in Kenya’s provisional marathon team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It would have been Kiptum’s debut at the Games. In its report, BBC quoted Sebastian Coe, president, World Athletics, saying that Kiptum was “ an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”

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