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)