The owner of a small furniture shop in Aluva has been making a unique contribution to life in Kerala.
A land of backwaters, rivers and seacoast, accidents involving boats have been several in the state. In May 2023, 27 people died when their boat capsized in Tanur. That was merely the latest at the time of writing. What set Saji Valasseril thinking was an incident 21 years ago, when 29 people lost their lives after their boat traveling from Muhamma to Kumarakom, capsized in the Vembanad Lake. “ There were other mishaps too that made me want to do something,’’ Saji, a resident of Aluva, said. In 2007, 15 students, two teachers and an employee were killed when their boat sank in Thattekkad. In 2009, there was the Thekkady boat tragedy when 45 people died after their boat sank in the Periyar National Park. For Saji, it just didn’t make sense that people should die so. He felt that if people knew how to swim; at the very least if they could stay calm and afloat till rescuers arrived, lives could be saved. Saji had a background relevant to imagine so. His late father, V. Thomas Mani, had been a champion swimmer during his days in the army’s Madras Regiment. He taught Saji to swim in the river Periyar.
In March 2010, Saji decided to address the subject of drownings in Kerala, starting with his own family. His two children – Merin and Jerin – and the children of a friend, commenced learning to swim under his tutelage in the Periyar. On the map, Aluva, located on the banks of the Periyar, is a little before the river splinters into a complex estuarine geography ahead of its rendezvous with the backwaters and the Arabian Sea. The Periyar is Kerala’s biggest river in terms of volume of water carried. Because he was imagining back from all those boat accidents and survival in such contexts, Saji oriented his swimming lessons towards an eventual river-crossing. Merin did just that on the 39th day of her training; aged 13, she swam across the Periyar. The younger Jerin followed suit; he took two to two and a half months of training.
A training session in progress in the Periyar (photo: courtesy Saji)
Around 2012, Saji named his endeavour, ` Valasseril River Swimming Club.’ By 2013, the number of people crossing, rose to 38. “ About one third to a quarter of a batch reach the competence level where they become eligible to try a crossing. The rest, learn swimming and go,’’ Saji said, adding against the backdrop of his syllabus that he estimates a trainee to acquire basic skills in 16 days. In 2014, 76 people swam across the Periyar. In 2017 the number touched 87 and in 2019 it rose further to 91. After a spike in response during the COVID phase, when almost 240 people crossed each year in 2020 and in 2021; in 2023, 1620 people trained, of who, 140 crossed. “ In all, I estimate, about 8000 people have by now learnt swimming from us,’’ Saji said leafing through files of entry forms submitted over the years. He has since become a regular subject of interest for the local media. According to Saji, the current length of the club’s crossing is approximately 750 metres as the route is to and fro. Maximum depth should be 30-40 feet.
Saji’s swimming sessions also attracted a clutch of differently abled individuals and senior citizens. Media reports cited a double amputee, a boy born without hands, a girl who underwent neurosurgery and was weak in one leg and a septuagenarian lady – Arifa – who swam with her hands tied, among those who crossed the Periyar. On August 14, 2023, Arifa spoke to this blog. In 2018, Aluva, where she resides, was among places affected by the heavy rain and floods that hit Kerala. She was not in town when calamity struck but her children told her of what happened including the tales of rescue. Arifa didn’t know how to swim. But she quickly realized that to be useful in times of flood and be part of relief work, swimming was an essential skill. That’s how at 68 years of age, she connected with Saji. Having grown up near a river, Arifa wasn’t an utter stranger to water. But that was 55 years earlier in her childhood. The year she attended Saji’s training session and learnt to swim, she couldn’t cross the Periyar because the day for swimming across coincided with her period of fasting. Then the lockdown induced by COVID-19 intervened. Eventually, she swam across the Periyar in 2022. Two months later with a week of training devoted to the new challenge assigned her, she swam across with her hands tied. “ The message I’d like to share from this attempt is that all should learn how to swim,” she was quoted as saying in the New Indian Express. In its early days, Saji’s program was focused on children. In 2016, very unexpectedly, a parent swam along in the crossing. He died of a heart attack. Following this, an ambulance became a constant presence at the program site and on the day of crossing, a safety-boat was engaged. More importantly, Saji began training adults as well. Nowadays, no adult gets to the crossing stage without the trainers being convinced that they are up to it, Saji said. Aside from his commitment to the journey he has embarked on, what engages about Saji’s project is the manner in which he built up scale.
A crossing underway in the Periyar (photo: courtesy Saji)
A state, where many houses once sported private ponds, the declining engagement of the average Malayali with swimming, is a product of altered lifestyle. Greater construction has meant the old ponds levelled and built over. Overwhelming emphasis on academics meant the school and college-going became distanced from swimming or they learnt it as a skill paid for and acquired at any of the state’s modern but expensive swimming pools. Simply put, the numbers of those in newer generations who were acquainted with water, shrank. As these shifts happened, the Periyar’s kadavu or bathing ghats grew neglected and with it, familiar places on the river with gradual progression in depth and ideal to teach swimming, dwindled. Compounding the issue has been the problem of sand mining (it plagues many rivers in Kerala), which creates places with sudden variation in depth.
A May 2022 report in Mathrubhumi said, “ As per the records of the Fire and Rescue Department, on an average, three people drown in the state per day. ‘’ According to it, in 2021 alone there were 1102 reported cases of drowning, up from less than 1000 the year before. Many people drowned in rivers and ponds when visiting such places in groups. Even if one knew swimming, being able to tackle natural water bodies with currents in them, was an issue contributing to the fatalities, the news report said. When this writer contacted M Naushad, Director (Technical) of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, he said that while knowing how to swim is always a good thing, people not heeding instructions to desist from swimming when and where conditions are not ideal, was a worry.
Saji, who is clear that his job is not to create champion swimmers but impart a survival skill, hosts his training at Manappuram in Aluva, a place by the Periyar famed for a Shiva temple and which has a gradually sloping approach into the waters. Here, Saji came up with an ingenious device (his fabrication skills came of use); a removable, collapsible structure of GI pipes, 70 feet by 40 feet in dimension. He currently uses four such structures. Each of them, anchored and kept afloat by an array of inflatable rubber tubes, separates the area within used for training, into seven lanes of varying water-depth. The trainees work their way from the shallows to the deep lane. This graduation takes weeks. It is only after such progression entailing 50 days, that the best of the lot, get a shot at the crossing monitored by expert swimmers with a kayak in tow. For Saji, this method has worked well so far. More importantly, since his mission commenced in the need to teach a state how to save itself in water, he considers the model replicable for use at other locations. “ If you look at where all people are drowning these days, you will be amazed. There is the case of a large temple pond, which was cleaned and beautifully redone only to have people drown in it later. My device can be built to required scale and all it needs is the shallows of these ponds. If people are trained using the device in such ponds and they venture to the deep only after they are properly skilled, fatalities can be minimised,’’ Saji said.
A training session in progress in the Periyar (photo: courtesy Saji)
Thanks to the four structures in the water, Saji said, the club can train close to 1000 people at a time. As a concept, scaling up won’t be appreciated by discerning trainers because of the inbuilt danger in something going wrong. For instance, trainers’ attention risks being spread thin as the number of trainees rise. Health issues is another. But against the backdrop of Kerala’s emergent equation with water (there is the newfound reality of floods to cope with during rains plus those recurrent boat tragedies) Saji merits a hearing. According to him, municipal authorities and elected representatives have supported him in the ongoing project in Aluva. To aid scale and reduce risk related to the natural variabilities of a river, he wishes for a large tank with powerful pumps, built at Manappuram, which mimics the water depth of the Periyar’s banks and its flow. It will cost money; sponsors will be needed. But if by now, you are thinking that training plus scale should be fetching this man good money; hang on. According to Saji, he charges nothing except for expenses around safety. His main income remains the small shop: Valasseril Furniture.
(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This is the slightly extended version of an article written by the author and published in The Telegraph on July 10, 2023.)
At the 2023 Comrades Marathon, Mumbai-based Dr Anand Patil crossed the finish line for the tenth time thus earning a Comrades Green Number Roll of Honour. Runners who complete the ultramarathon in South Africa ten times earn the recognition.
Since 1921, a total of 14,000 runners from South Africa and around the world have earned this green number, information on Comrades website said. A week before his tenth Comrades run, Anand did the Durban Half Ironman.
A surgeon by training, Anand’s journey in endurance is a combination of running, triathlon, ultra-long-distance cycling and ultra-long-distance swimming. Apart from the ten Comrades, Anand has done over 13 full Ironman and 11 half Ironman, Olympic distance triathlons and 40 marathons in India and overseas including all the six World Marathon Majors. That last distinction earned him the Abbott World Marathon Major medal. His endeavours also include several ultra-cycling races and ultra-swim events. He has done an Ultraman.
Anand grew up in Kurli village in Belgaum. Much of his childhood years were spent swimming in rivers, local water bodies, cycling, walking and running through the village, apart from pouring over his school books. There was no TV and movies for distraction. At the Vaishampayan Memorial Government Medical College, Anand became part of the swimming team and as a second year MBBS student, he took part in competitions. After his MS, he went into the medical profession. He did not stop formal education after MS. Instead, he went on to do M.Sc (in Biotechnology), MA (in Political Science and History), LLB and M.Phil (in Anthropology). He also cleared the UPSC (Union Public Services Commission) examination, which is essential for a career in civil services. Alongside he started a coaching centre, Study Circle, for those aspiring to join civil services.
Years went by. Anand’s medical practice continued. He also focussed on expanding Study Circle across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi. “ I had put on a lot of weight. A college friend of mine Dr Ajay Chaugale was shocked to see me so heavy. He asked me to join a gym. At that time both me and my wife Vaishali became life members of Talwalkars Gym,” Anand said. This was in 2000.
In 2004, Mumbai Marathon made its debut. Anand was part of the medical team for that edition. “ In 2008, I ran 21 kilometres at the Thane Mahapaur Run (it was later renamed: Varsha Marathon). I ran without any training. My time at Talwalkars Gym helped build my strength and stamina,” he said.
Dr Anand Patil (photo: courtesy Anand)
In 2010, he ran the full marathon at Mumbai Marathon. In the same year, he did Berlin Marathon. In the following year, he did the New York City Marathon. While running this marathon, he heard about Comrades. In 2012, he did his first Comrades run. Comrades Marathon is actually an ultramarathon of about 87-90 km held annually in South Africa. The route alternates between the downhill version from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and the uphill version from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
“ I began understanding endurance. I realised that I was healthy but not fit,” he said. Fitness, according to him, has five aspects – stamina, endurance, strength, power and speed.
While running his first Comrades, he heard about Ironman (triathlon) from an Australian runner. Soon, he was dividing his time between work, workouts and races. These races were a mix of marathon, triathlon, cycling events and swimming events.
In May 2017, Anand participated in Noosa Ultraman in Queensland, Australia. An Ultraman held over three days entails a 10 km swim, 140 km bicycle ride (on day one), 281 km bicycle ride (on day two) and an 84.3 km run (on day three). “ I didn’t get my visa until the day before I was to leave. I did the swim segment without a wet suit,” he said. He finished the Ultraman in 33:42:16 hours. Less than a month after the Ultraman, Anand ran the Comrades Marathon (his sixth). Later that year, he did Bhutan Tour of the Dragon, a 255 km-mountain bike race and followed it with Ironman Langkawi.
Anand’s calendar is packed with endurance events. In 2018, he did the Boston Marathon and followed it up with Comrades. Later that year, he did three events over three weekends – Ironman Maryland followed by Chicago Marathon followed by Ironman Louisville. He also did Ironman Langkawi, his third time there. He did this Ironman five times from 2016 onward. Anand is expected to do the Ironman Langkawi for the sixth time this October.
In ultra-cycling events, Anand has completed the Ultra Spice twice and the Deccan Cliffhanger six times.
According to Anand, management of calories is very important for endurance sport. “ This time at Comrades I planned to be on my feet for 12 hours. As per my calculation I needed 11,000 calories. My aim was to get to the halfway mark in under five hours with a need for 4,000 calories,” he said.
On the day of the race at Comrades, at 1:30 AM, he had breakfast and a 750 ml isotonic drink. On reaching the start line, he had a black coffee. “ The race commenced at 5:30 AM. I was in corral H. I lost 7-8 minutes by the time I crossed the start line. At 7:30 AM, at an aid station, I had a drink. From Drummond, which is the half way mark, the stiff climb starts. I did not feel hungry until finish line,” he said. He finished the run in 10:51:07 hours. His best timing in Comrades was 9:50 in 2016.
Having finished his tenth Comrades and earned his green number, Anand plans to focus on training for Race Across America (RAAM), an ultra-cycling event that starts in Oceanside in California and ends at Annapolis, Maryland on the US east coast. It covers a distance of over 3,000 miles and traverses through 12 states. As part of his training, he intends to do the 600 km solo crew supported Himalayan ultra from Leh to Kargil and back in August this year.
Dr Anand Patil (photo: courtesy Anand)
What strikes about Dr Patil’s life is the tendency to push one’s limits, visible as much in his accomplishments in sports as it is in academics. While his harvest in endurance spans marathons to ultramarathons and Ironman to Ultraman; in academics, his degrees range from humanities to law and medicine with an acceptance for the civil services. “ He is an outlier,’’ Anand’s wife, Vaishali, said (according to her, back in time when Anand cleared the civil services exams, he was ranked 68th and offered the chance to join the Indian Police Service). She attributed his nature to upbringing in a rural backdrop, challenges faced along the way, the determination to overcome obstacles and the resolve to maximise whatever one did. “ His needs are minimum. One might think that someone with his kind of calendar would have a diet regimen, a workout routine and endless needs. He has no such needs or demands. If you see his office timings, they are unbelievable, his practice for all of his races is always below par and yet I have not had an ounce of supplements or gels or anything in my house ever,’’ Vaishali said.
With Study Circle picking up strongly, it wasn’t long before the doctor – he had his own hospital in Navi Mumbai – was splitting time between his medical practice and the civil services-training outfit.
Anand has now reoriented his medical acumen towards Fitness calibration based on the concept of the Fitness pyramid, besides training students for the civil services.
In a sense, life has come full circle for him. Those who were his students at Study Circle and have since become high ranking civil servants look up to Anand as their guru in endurance sports too, Vaishali said.
(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)
India’s Vipul Kumar finishes fourth in men’s 100km race
Japanese runners swept the podium in both individual and team events at the 2023 IAU 100km Asia and Oceania Championship held in Bengaluru on Sunday, July 30.
In the men’s race, Toru Somiya of Japan won by a good margin covering the distance in six hours, 39 minutes and 38 second, ahead of fellow compatriots Haruki Okayama (second place at 6:50:42) and Hideaki Yamauchi (third at 6:55:51). The outcome in the women’s race was similar with Japan’s Miho Nakata (7:27:44) placing first followed by her teammates, Mai Fujisawa (7:45:49) and Mikiko Ota (7:54:33) in second and third respectively. In the team championship, the men’s category was easily won by Japan; its best three runners had an aggregate time of 20:26:11. India placed second with an aggregate of 22:21:13 and Chinese Taipei, third, with 29:25:54. In the women’s category, the team championship went to Japan with a total of 23:04:06. The second and third positions went to Australia (27:48;03) and Chinese Taipei (32:25:07) respectively.
Miho Nakata (Photo: Latha Venkatraman)
Going into the race, expectations were high for the former world record holder Nao Kazami (he had a personal best of 6:09:14 for 100km) and Okayama (PB of 6:12:10). On race day, Kazami completed the first 11 laps of the five kilometre-course in 3:25:28 compared to 3:29:05 for Somiya. They completed 13 laps in 4:05:05 and 4:08:27 respectively. However, somewhere past the middle of the race, Kazami who was running strongly began to struggle and fade. Somiya completed his 18th lap in 5:53:52. Kazami took 6:02:37 to finish 17 laps. Somiya steadily consolidated his position and emerged winner by a wide margin (Kazami eventually finished in 7:22:10).
According to his team manager, this was Somiya’s first appearance in the national running team. His work schedule is such that he works during the night and trains during the day. On the other hand, the winner among women, Miho Nakata, has been a member of Japan’s national team before. All in all, the Japanese team drove home the message that its participation raises performance levels at running competitions, comprehensively (India’s previous taste of an IAU championship – the 2022 IAU 24 Hour Asia and Oceania Championship, also held in Bengaluru – hadn’t featured participation by the Japanese). Japan is among countries where running enjoys a great following.
Vipul Kumar (Photo: Shyam G Menon)
Having said that, on Sunday, finishing fourth in the men’s category (behind the top placed Japanese trio) was India’s Vipul Kumar. His gritty run took 7:06:10 to complete. He fell short of improving his national best (7:04:00) by a narrow margin. “Although the weather was an issue, I am very happy with my performance,” he told this blog. The second and third fastest Indian runners were Amar Singh Devanda (7:27:48) and Saurav Kumar Ranjan (7:47:06). These three runs taken together, earned the Indian men’s team a second place in their gender category.
In the women’s section, the Indian team suffered an unexpected setback when its top runner Jyoti Gawate (she holds the national record for women in 100 km – 8:20:00) was forced to pull out due to severe cramps. Between her 14th and 15th laps, there was a long gap in her appearance on the course, those watching the race from the side-lines noticed. It was the outcome of a break she had to take to address her situation. Jyoti completed 16 laps before deciding to discontinue. Coming into the race, Jyoti had the sixth best personal timing in 100km among the gathered women athletes. On Sunday, the fastest Indian woman to 100km was Shashi Mehta (8:52:38). She was followed by Gunjan Khurana (10:24:50). The race was held on a five kilometre-loop with a successful completion entailing 20 laps of the circuit. Unfortunately, the Indian women couldn’t deliver three successful completions from their ranks, to be considered for the team championship.
The podium finishers in the open category (Photo: Shyam G Menon)
In the 100km open category, Velu Perumal was the winner; he covered the distance in 7:55:50. The second runner to finish was Gorkha Ram Beniwal with a timing of 8:15:22 and in third position was Anmol Chandan who finished in 10:02:39. There were no women runners in the open category. There were eleven male runners; all from India. Both Velu and Gorkha Ram pointed out that their diligent training helped them to stay strong on the course. Velu had been part of the Indian team which took part in the 2022 IAU 24 Hour Asia and Oceania Championship, held in Bengaluru.
The 2023 IAU 100km Asia and Oceania Championship was organized by NEB Sports.
Lkhagva-Erdene Namkhaidorj and Alan (Photo: Shyam G Menon)
On Sunday, many runners spoke of the weather as a suddenly emergent challenge. In the days preceding the race, Bengaluru had seen rain and experienced a generally cool weather. The day before the race, at the time of the event’s opening ceremony, there was rain. It kindled hopes that the cool weather would continue. Race day commenced with cool weather. But a few hours later, the sun came out and the coolness gave way to heat and humidity. Add to it portions of the course described by some of the runners as less shaded or hosting an incline. From the hours merging morning to noon onward, the struggle was evident across the assembled runners. Thus, although they won the race by a fantastic margin when compared to the rest of the field, the timings of even the Japanese runners were not close to their personal best. A team manager explained the situation as being as much physical as it was psychological. According to him, there was so much confidence in the weather being good that when it turned otherwise, the carefully placed calculations and motivation levels of some of the athletes may have got upset. There were exceptions. India’s Amar Singh Devanda, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Binay Sah (7:55:21) and Shashi Mehta managed new personal best.
Amidst all the competition, there was a lovely example of cooperation and sharing. In ultrarunning, each team’s support crew plays a crucial role; they make sure they know their runners well, cater to each athlete’s needs on race-day and support them with nutrition and hydration. Mongolian ultrarunner, Lkhagva-Erdene Namkhaidorj, out on her first international event and only the second 100km-race of her life, had reached Bengaluru without anyone to support her during the run. Alan, who was supporting Shannon-Leigh Litt of New Zealand, decided to support the Mongolian runner too. The two teams shared one tent offering the required support facilities. As Lkhagva-Erdene Namkhaidorj completed her race, it was Alan who showed up to greet her at the finish line, Mongolian flag in hand for her to wrap herself in.
(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai.)
It will be the first IAU world championship to be held in India
Athletes and officials assembled in Bengaluru for the IAU 100km Asia & Oceania Championship (Photo: Shyam, G Menon)
India will host its first world championship under the auspices of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) in November this year.
“ It will be the 50k world championship and will be held in Hyderabad,’’ Dr Nadeem Khan, president, IAU said in Bengaluru on Saturday (July 29, 2023). As yet IAU championships held in India have spanned 24 hours and 100k and been in the Asia-Oceania championship category.
Dr Khan was in the city in connection with the IAU 100km Asia & Oceania Championship, which gets underway on Sunday (July 30). The event – it is the first IAU 100k championship being held in India – is scheduled to take place on a five kilometre-loop at the GKVK (Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra) campus. The championship was formally declared open at a ceremonial function, Saturday evening.
Nao Kazami (Photo: Shyam G Menon)
Haruki Okayama (Photo: Shyam G Menon)
The event has participants from Australia, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Japan, Mongolia and India. It is being held in association with the IAU, Athletics Federation of India and is being organised by NEB Sports. The presence of Japan and Australia add to the competition on show. Of the top five male athletes ranked as per their personal best, the top four are from Japan and one, from Australia. This includes former world record holder Nao Kazami of Japan, who has a PB of six hours, nine minutes and 14 seconds for the 100k. Expected to give him tight competition is his teammate, Haruki Okayama (6:12;10). All the aforementioned five athletes have sub-seven-hours PBs. Going into the race, the composition of the top five ranked according to their PBs was the same for women with the top four hailing from Japan and one from Australia. The best PB among women belonged to Miho Nakata (7:19:12).
The previous edition of the 100km Asia and Oceania Championship was held in Jordan in 2019. In 2022, the 100km World Championships were held at Bernau-Berlin where India’s Vipul Kumar and Jyoti Gawate set new national bests (7:04:00 and 8:20:00) in the distance. Both Jyoti and Vipul are part of the Indian team running at Bengaluru on Sunday (July 30, 2023).
The Indian team with IAU president, Dr Nadeem Khan (far right), race director Nagaraj Adiga (second from left) and others (Photo: Latha Venkatraman)
“ The hosting of IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championship will give us visibility and reach in ultrarunning,” a related press release said quoting Dr Rajender Kataria, an IAS officer and president of the local organizing committee of the championship in Bengaluru. “ The championship coming to India is a culmination of several years of hard work. We are very excited to bring this event to India and appreciate the fact that this will further elevate the sport in the country,” the release said quoting Dr Khan.
India will be represented by ten ultrarunners – four women and six men. They are Vipul Kumar, Binay Sah, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Nishu Kumar, Amar Singh Devanda, Karthik Joshi, Jyoti Gawate, Gunjan Khurana, Shashi Mehta and Aparna Choudhary.
(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai.)
Months after the 2023 Brazil 135 and almost two weeks since the year’s edition of Badwater 135 concluded, one of the most remarkable performances by an ultrarunner hailing from India, has stayed little-known.
Sonia Ahuja grew up in Gurgaon near New Delhi. That’s where her journey began. Her parents were teachers. “ My father and I walked a lot. We would walk miles and miles to go to various places. I remember walking a lot as a kid,’’ she said mid-July 2023. It was past 2PM in India, hour of sleep in Los Angeles but as the ultrarunner put it, alright for a chat and just an hour shy of the regular commencement of a running day. Following her post graduate course in computer application (MCA), Sonia joined Tata Computer Services (TCS) and within months, reached the US. “ I was a generally ambitious person,’’ she said about her tendency to work hard and excel. In due course, she did her MBA from College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She also got married (to Sameer Nayyar), started a family and focused on raising her daughter (Rhea).
Aside from all the walking she had done with her father in India, Sonia had not participated in sports through her years in school and college. Emphasis was on academics. Running entered her life in the period that followed her joining Wells Fargo, and her taking on increased responsibilities at work. The appetite for more work induced stress. To address it, she jogged daily. To her delight, she found it not only good for physical fitness but also mentally refreshing. “ I became less anxious and thought more clearly,’’ she said. Eventually, running became a habit. “ I couldn’t work if I hadn’t run,’’ she said. It wasn’t long before, somebody suggested that she try a marathon. And so, in 2014, Sonia who lived then in San Diego, ran her first marathon – the Rock `n’ Roll San Diego Marathon. To everyone’s amazement, she returned a sub-four-hour timing. In the years that followed, she participated in several events; among them the Los Angeles Marathon and the iconic marathons in Boston and Chicago. She wasn’t a devotee of systematic training and big events. She wasn’t also into racing and running for medals. She preferred instead to run for her own enjoyment, set her distances accordingly and generally opted for low profile events where the pressure to chase targets and be around thousands chasing targets, was less.
What intrigued Sonia wasn’t as much these marathons as how she felt after running them. At the end of a 42 kilometer-run, she felt quite energetic. There was little exhaustion or sense of collapse. It prompted her to run more. Soon it became a trend with her – she would participate in a marathon and while others rested the day after or did short recovery runs, she would do a half marathon. In turn, that ability for sustained running, provoked her curiosity for distances longer than the marathon; the ultramarathon. Four years after her marathon debut in San Diego, she did her first 50 miler in Avalon, California, in 2018. “ It went off well. I felt great after completing it,’’ Sonia said. But further exploration of her boundaries in running was checked by work. She had become the chief operating officer of a private equity backed company; the job entailed considerable travel and the schedule affected her running.
Sonia Ahuja (centre) with her family and her support crew for Badwater 135 (Photo: courtesy Sonia)
In 2020, COVID-19 gripped the planet and the world sank into a period of lockdown and restrictions. The onset of pandemic put on hold, Sonia’s traveling. It freed up time; time that she could use to run. Although running events worldwide went into a hiatus, in a US that believed in the physically active lifestyle, Sonia was able to push her running and pile on mileage. She was doing weekly mileage of 80-100 miles. There were days when she hid her Strava data from public view so that her eccentricity wouldn’t be noticed. Her distances were now moving steadily from marathon to ultramarathon territory. It was partly fueled by the fact that she found the greater distances “ calming.’’ She also liked running on trails and during this time indulged in a lot of hiking. “ I went to Switzerland and ran and hiked in the Swiss Alps,’’ she said. In 2020, she signed up for her first 100 kilometer-race. It was a small event. Days before the race, she realized that she was feeling very good. “ So I changed the 100k to a 100 miler,’’ Sonia said. She placed second among women in the race. Once again, what stood out for her was the comparative lack of exhaustion. She had run (no walking) the whole distance and aside from a few blisters, she was absolutely alright. She continued to do many 50 kilometer-runs.
Around this time, another revelation occurred. She had struck up an annual tradition of hiking up and down Mt Whitney (one way is 11 miles); all in a day’s time. Whitney (14,505 feet) is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and Sierra Nevada. On one occasion, she did the single day-hike up and down Whitney and ran a marathon the next day. She posted this on social media and among the responses she got was a suggestion that she attempt Badwater 135, the grueling ultramarathon through California’s punishingly hot Death Valley with a finish at over 8000 feet-elevation at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mt Whitney. “ I looked it up on the Internet and it seemed like the Holy Grail of ultrarunning,’’ Sonia said. In the ultrarunning world, completing Badwater is a coveted benchmark. As Sonia studied the details including race results, it struck her that no Indian woman had yet completed Badwater in the solo category. According to Sonia, in September 2022, she contacted Chris Kostman, the race director of the Badwater ultramarathon and spoke to him of her wish to participate. Given ultramarathons push people to their limits and can therefore be risky, the major events out there usually insist on prequalification. Kostman asked Sonia about the races she had been to. It was soon evident that her resume was weak. He told her that she should have done at least three 100 mile-races before thinking of Badwater.
That didn’t deter Sonia. Given applications for the 2023 Badwater 135 had to be submitted in January, she knew she had very little time to wrap up three races and deliver a performance good enough for consideration by Badwater. In October 2022, she emerged the overall winner at the Miami 100 ultramarathon with a run that nearly broke the course record. In December 2022, she completed the Rio Del Lago 100 miler in 22 hours. The final of the trio of qualifiers she picked was in Brazil – the Brazil 135, much respected by ultrarunners for its difficulty. An April 2017 article by David Green in Trail Runner magazine described the race so: “ The Brazil 135, a realization of race director Mario Lacerda’s dream, features 135 miles and 35,000 feet of climbing.’’ According to it, the race takes place on “ a storied trail—the “Caminho de Fé,” also known as the “trail of faith”—whose history goes back hundreds of years as a religious pilgrimage. Each mountain climb is rewarded by a descent into each unique village, a church and folks who whole-heartedly support the ultrarunners.’’
Running Badwater 135; Sonia Ahuja (centre) and members of her support crew (Photo: courtesy Sonia)
For Sonia there was a first; Brazil 135 was a race that required the runner to have a support team. Sonia describes herself as “ minimalist’’ in approach and “ low maintenance.’’ That lightness of being had been her attitude towards races too. During her races, she refuelled at aid stations. Brazil was going to be different. And yet, it shouldn’t break the relaxed approach to racing she was comfortable with – that was the thought. Sonia sounded out her best friend, Ekta Ranjan, about a vacation in Brazil with an ultramarathon on the side. Ekta did some homework and understood that Brazil 135 was no run in the park. It gave her an idea of how to prepare. By now members from Sonia’s running club (Mari Iwasaki and Crystal Alexander) were keen to crew; there was also a backpacker (Brian Matsuyama) headed to Brazil who joined in. Local knowledge was critical for the race in Brazil and so they recruited a person from there (Marcelo Bo) as well for the crew. The overall tenor was still one of vacation. The style hid a crucial detail.
Brazil 135 was terribly important for Sonia – a win there ensured runner an entry to Badwater. As it turned out, Sonia finished first among women in the race and third overall. It was remarkable. Besides the intrinsic difficulty of Brazil 135, she had done three 100 milers as best as she could in the period spanning October 2022 to January 2023. And she completed Brazil 135 without injuries, blisters and stomach issues. It was a strong finish. “ I now knew I was going to run Badwater,’’ she said. Of the six persons, who crewed for her in Brazil, four formed her support crew for Badwater (the rest turned up to support). For the event in California, she tweaked her approach and made it more target-oriented. She did additional strength training. For ease of crewing and monitoring her progress, the team visualized the upcoming race as five marathons. Sonia set a best-case scenario of covering the 135 miles in 24-25 hours (she later revised that to attempting a sub-24-hours pace); worst case was 28-29 hours. Plus, some serious planning went into hydration and nutrition; the conditions at Badwater are not to be trivialized with (Death Valley is among the hottest places on Earth. On July 17, 2023, The Guardian reported that the temperature at Furnace Creek in the valley had touched 53.3 degrees centigrade the day before. Furnace Creek is also where the hottest temperature yet recorded on Earth, happened: 56.7 degrees centigrade in July 1913).
From Badwater 135; Sonia Ahuja (centre with flag) and her support crew (Photo: courtesy Sonia)
On race day in early July, Sonia who commenced her run as part of the second wave of runners (there were three in all), covered the first marathon segment in sub-four hours. Some from her crew expressed concern at the pace. It was the early stages of the race and there was a lot of distance left to cover. The second segment went by in 4:15 hours. By the end of the fourth segment, she was still ahead of her personal target. Then came a section, where runners were advised a roughly 20 minute-ride in the crew car to get past a flooded portion. Sonia had thought of catching some sleep in the car. In her urge to secure a fine finish for India, she iced her legs hoping it would make them fresh for the last stretch. Her confidence was also bolstered by the fact that a month before, she had done a dry run of some sections of the race and in that, she had covered the last portion pretty fast. Inexplicably on race day, the last section proved agonizing. Her legs kept giving away and she had to almost crawl to the finish line (it is suspected, the icing of the legs may have caused the problem). Still, the first woman hailing from India to finish Badwater solo placed second in her gender category and fourth overall. According to Sonia, at 25 hours and 42 minutes, hers was the third fastest time to finish among women, in the history of the race. “ It’s insane. Absolutely fantastic,’’ Ashish Kasodekar, well-known ultrarunner from Pune, who has completed both Brazil 135 and Badwater 135, told this blog of Sonia’s performance.
News of Sonia’s podium finish created a buzz among runners in India. Badwater is one of the world’s toughest ultramarathons. People associated with India’s national ultrarunning team reached out to Sonia. But her work and life in the US had seen her take US citizenship; she was now technically a Person of Indian Origin. What the 47-year-old wishes for most, is to see her podium finish inspire female ultrarunners from India to attempt races like Badwater.
(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article is based on a conversation with Sonia Ahuja.)
Mumbai’s Zarir Balliwala wins age category podium in 5 km swim in Bali
Mumbai’s Zarir Balliwala won in his age category in a five kilometre-swim at the Oceanman Asian Championship, held in Bali from July 7 to 9, 2023.
The 62 year-old placed first in the men’s 60-69 years age category with a finish in two hours, 19 minutes and 24 seconds. He finished 75th from among 175 swimmers.
The championship featured races over 1 km, 2 km, 5 km and 10 km. Zarir participated in the 5 km-race.
“It was a hard course, turbulent in parts and windy. On the return leg it was slightly difficult. Overall, the experience was wonderful,” he told this blog.
This performance helped Zarir get a direct entry into the World Championships in Phuket in December this year.
Indian team for IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships 2023 announced
Ten ultrarunners have been chosen to represent India at the IAU 100 km Asia & Oceania Championships to be held in Bengaluru on July 30, 2023.
Three women and seven men have been named to participate in this event.
The three women are Jyoti Gawate, Gunjan Khurana and Shashi Mehta.
The men’s team includes Vipul Kumar, Om Prakash Saran, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Nishu Kumar, Kartik Joshi and Amar Singh Devanda. Binay Kumar Sah has been named as a stand-by athlete.
Vipul Kumar holds the national best in 100 km for men at seven hours, four minutes and 52 seconds. Jyoti Gawate holds the national best for women at 8:20:07. Both Vipul and Jyoti had set their records at the 32nd IAU 100 km World Championships in Bernau-Berlin on August 27, 2022.
Asian Athletics Championship / Jyoti Yarraji, Ajay Kumar Saroj, Abdullah Abubakar strike gold
India bagged three gold medals on the second day of the 25th Asian Athletics Championship (July 12-16) in Bangkok.
In the women’s 100m hurdles final, India’s Jyoti Yarraji finished first in 13.09 seconds to claim top honours. In the men’s segment, Ajay Kumar Saroj claimed gold in the 1500m covering the distance in three minutes, 41.51 seconds (3:41.51). In the men’s triple jump, Abdullah Abubakar stood first with a gold medal-winning jump of 16.92m.
(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)
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.
Satish Gujaran (Photo: courtesy Satish)
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.
Yogesh Satav (Photo: courtesy Yogesh)
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.
Deepak Budhrani (Photo: courtesy Deepak)
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 (Photo: courtesy Dhanraj)
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 (Photo: courtesy Anil)
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.
Bindu Juneja (Photo: courtesy Bindu)
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.
Rahul Kulkarni (Photo: courtesy Rahul)
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 (Photo: courtesy Yasmin)
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.
Madhuri Palli (Photo: courtesy Madhuri)
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 (Photo: courtesy Ashish)
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.
Rashmi Satav (Photo: courtesy Rashmi)
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.)
Kabir Rachure soon after his successful completion of 2023 RAAM in the solo category (Photo: courtesy Sapana Rachure)
Secures second place in age category
Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath complete RAAM for the second time
Results are provisional
Kabir Rachure got his third successful finish at Race Across America (RAAM) on Saturday, June 24, 2023, with a second place in his age group to boot.
He finished on the tenth day – 10 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes – from race commencement, a much-valued objective among Indian aspirants. The result is an improvement on Kabir’s timing from the 2022 RAAM, when he had completed the race in 11 days, 11 hours and 25 minutes and placed third his age category of men under 50. That was his second finish in RAAM’s solo segment. Earlier in 2019, his first successful completion of RAAM had been in 11 days, 22 hours and 43 minutes.
Hours after Kabir crossed the finish line at 2023 RAAM, Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath registered their second successful completion of the race. Amit completed in 11 days, four hours and 38 minutes; Srinivas in 11 days, six hours. In 2017, Srinivas had been the first Indian to complete RAAM in the solo category. He took 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. Amit followed Srinivas to the finish line in 11 days and 21 hours, giving India two solo finishers that year.
At the time of writing, the 2023 race results were provisional. According to some of those tracking RAAM from India, there was an incident of forest fire en route due to which, participants were advised travel in vehicles between two time-stations (TS 8 and TS 9). Subsequently, as the race continued, there appears to have been two notes to participants on the subject. In their first communique, race organizers informed that solo riders may see time adjustment of nine hours post-race. Later, a note of June 22, while not mentioning nine hours, said (among other things), “ Cut offs remain as they are in the rules and this adjustment taken after the fact will not affect your official finish status but will affect your final speeds and race data.’’ It added that until the final adjustment is made, “ all awards and records will be provisional.’’ As per this note, the shuttle of 102.8 miles (165.44 kilometres) between time-stations 8 and 9 reduced this year’s course length to 2934.09 miles (4721.96 kilometres).
RAAM normally spans a little over 3000 miles (4800 kilometres), from the west coast of the United States to its east. The cut off time to complete RAAM solo, is 12 days. “ Finishing RAAM itself is a Herculean task,’’ Bharat Pannu, among leading ultra-cyclists in India and a RAAM aspirant, said on Kabir’s performance and how it would be a new benchmark for those set to follow. The 2023 RAAM was won by Isa Pulver of Switzerland. She covered the distance in nine days, 12 hours and 16 minutes; only the second instance of a woman winning RAAM’s solo category overall, after Leah Goldstein of Canada in 2021.
(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This report will be updated if there are any changes to the performance data quoted as a consequence of the post-race time adjustment.)
India’s Meenal Kotak wins 72-hour ultra-marathon in Milwaukee, USA
New Delhi-based ultra-runner Meenal Kotak has emerged the overall winner of the 72-hour ultra-marathon race at the Six Days in the Dome event held at Pettit National Ice Centre at Milwaukee from June 18 to 24, 2023.
She covered a distance of 235.3199 miles or 378.3107 kilometres during the stipulated 72 hours.
The six-day ultramarathon has races of differing distances such as six-day run, 72 hours, 48 hours, 24 hours and 12 hours.
In the 72-hour category, Lisa Georgis from the US finished second overall with a distance of 206.6627 (332.5914 km). The third finisher in this category was Ian Maddieson from the US with a mileage of 150.1749 miles (241.6831 km).
Runners were required to run in a loop of 443.445 metres.
World Mountain & Trail Running Championships / Two Indian runners, finish
Indian trail runners, participating in the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships held at Innsbruck-Stubai, Austria, finished at 139 and 140th position in the short trail event.
Sampathkumar Subramanian covered the distance of 45 kilometres (3200 metres of total elevation gain) in six hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. Sannat Sachdev finished the distance in 6:36:49 as per results on the race website.
The event was held from June 7 to 10, 2023.
Som Bahadur Thami, Indian runner for short trail, was listed as “did not show up” on the results website. Another Indian runner, Hemant Limbu, scheduled to do the long trail, was listed as DNS (did not start) on the website.
“ The trail run was quite tough but a great experience, running in the Alps,” Sampathkumar told this blog. He had earlier participated in the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships held in November 2022 in Thailand.
2023 RAAM / Race enters final stages
As of June 23, the year’s Race Across America, with three Indian cyclists in the solo category, was into its final stages.
Checked at noon, June 23, nine days since her solo cycling across the US commenced, race leader Isa Pulver of Switzerland, hailing from the female 50-59 age category of the event, had covered 2973.8 miles and was headed to the finish at Annapolis.
Lionel Poggio, also from Switzerland and belonging to the male 50-59 age category, was in second place having covered 2802.4 miles.
The Indian trio of Kabir Rachure, Srinivas Gokulnath and Amit Samarth – all slotted in the male under-50 age category, appeared to be doing well in terms of covering ground in the race.
With 2720.3 miles covered, Kabir was placed sixth overall among solo cyclists at 2023 RAAM (when checked at noon, June 23) and second in his age category. Interestingly, the top six was evenly divided between the genders. In 2021 Leah Goldstein of Canada had become the first woman to be overall winner at RAAM.
RAAM requires a solo participant to pedal roughly 3000 miles across the continental United States, from the west coast to the east. The cut off time is 12 days. Solo riders have support teams trailing them in a vehicle, making sure they and their cycles are looked after.
(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai.)
Evans Chebet (this image was downloaded from the Facebook page of Boston Marathon and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended)
Hellen Obiri (this image was downloaded from the Facebook page of Boston Marathon and is being used here for representation purpose. No copyright infringement intended)
It wasn’t Eliud Kipchoge’s best outing. But that didn’t stop Kenyan runners from dominating the elite category of the 2023 edition of the Boston Marathon.
Defending champion Evans Chebet won the men’s race while Hellen Obiri, both from Kenya, won the women’s race. World record holder and the race favourite, Kipchoge, started strong but fell back at the 20th mile and had to settle for sixth position.
Chebet won the men’s race in two hours five minutes and 54 seconds. Hellen Obiri covered the distance in 2:21:38. It was her first victory at a race that is part of the World Marathon Majors. She had made her debut in the marathon in 2022, at the New York City Marathon, where she finished sixth. The 2023 Boston Marathon was only her second such event.
“ I live for the moments where I get to challenge the Limits. It’s never guaranteed, it’s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height,” Kipchoge tweeted the day after the event. He holds the world record in the marathon with a timing of 2:01:09.
Over 30,000 runners participated in this year’s Boston Marathon, held on April 17, 2023.
Less than a week later on April 23, 2023, the year’s edition of the London Marathon was held. The World Marathon Major saw some dramatic performances by top athletes.
Renowned middle-distance runner, Sifan Hassan, posted a stunning victory in the women’s race in her first ever marathon despite suffering an injury in the early miles. She finished in 2:18:34. The top three women runners were bunched together till the final 150 meters or so, which was when Hassan accelerated to finish first in her debut marathon. The strong finish was classic Hassan.
Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya won the men’s race at the London Marathon in 2:01:25, setting a new course record and coming very close to Kipchoge’s world record. In 2022, at the Valencia Marathon, he had marked the fastest debut in a marathon becoming the third man in history to break two hours and two minutes.
The Abbott World Marathon Major circuit entails running six marathons – Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, New York City Marathon, Berlin Marathon, London Marathon and Tokyo Marathon.
We spoke to a few Indian runners who participated in these two World Marathon Majors – the 2023 Boston Marathon and London Marathon.
B. J. Vikram (photo: courtesy Vikram)
Training for London Marathon, B J Vikram, a Bengaluru-based runner, was mindful of stepping up his mileage in the run up to the marathon. “I build my mileage gradually combining it with strength training,” he said, aware of the fact that increasing mileage suddenly often leads to injury. He is not new to sports. Vikram is a skater and has represented India in many championships.
Vikram commenced long-distance running about 10 years ago. He heard about Boston qualification from co-runners and obtained details about it. He qualified for Boston Marathon in 2019 but was able to run it in 2022 as the intervening years were lost to the COVID-19 pandemic and running events around the world were either cancelled or postponed or limited to elite runners.
He started his World Marathon Major journey with Boston Marathon and went on to do Berlin Marathon with a sub-three-hour finish in 2022.
“ Five weeks before London Marathon, I did a few long, fast runs. I also did time-based runs instead of mileage-based runs,” he said.
Weather is always an issue in international marathons. To cope with cold weather, Vikram resorted to taking ice baths. These also help with quick recovery after hard training runs. Vikram finished London Marathon in 2:57:28.
Karthik Anand (left) with Tilak Dutt and Suneel Kumar Koyi, both of who registered sub-three hours-finish at the 2023 Boston Marathon (photo: courtesy Karthik)
Bengaluru-based runner Karthik Anand completed the six-star World Marathon Major circuit way back in 2019.
He was repeating Boston Marathon to help his wife Deepti to complete the World Marathon Major circuit. She was on her fourth race in the World Marathon series at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
“ My training for Boston Marathon was quite good. I was clocking on an average 100 km every week during the four-month training period. I interspersed my training with long runs, tempo runs and intervals,” he said adding that he mainly followed a training schedule curated by his coach K.C. Kothandapani, who also ran the 2023 edition of the race.
Karthik’s run went off quite well until the 34th kilometre when he began to suffer hamstring cramps. “ For about 400 meters I had to walk before I could resume jogging,” he said. Karthik, usually a sub-three-hour finisher, completed the race in 3:04:32.
Subhojit Roy (photo: courtesy Subhojit)
For Subhojit Roy of Pune, the 2023 outing at Boston Marathon was his third time at the iconic marathon. “ I am not focused on the World Marathon Majors. If I get to complete the World Marathon Majors, it’s great,” he said.
In December 2022, Subhojit ran Valencia Marathon in 3:09:53. On February 26, 2023, he ran the New Delhi Marathon and secured a personal record of 3:06:47.
“ I took a week off after New Delhi Marathon and that left me with just six weeks of training for Boston Marathon,” he said. Subhojit was experiencing a left hip ache, which often surfaced after training runs. “ I was in a dilemma. If I train hard, I may risk worsening the injury,” he said. On the other hand, he couldn’t land at the start line of Boston Marathon without adequate training.
For Subhojit, the experience was worth it. “ This time around I handled the hills much better,” he said. Subhojit finished in 3:13:37, his best timing in his three outings at the Boston Marathon so far.
“ It was cold and damp. It was drizzling throughout and at the 28 km mark it poured quite heavily but I enjoyed the weather. My hip injury started to act up at around the 35th km. Nevertheless, I finished strong,” he said.
Subhojit trains under Nihal Ahamad Baig.
Vandana Arora (photo: courtesy Vandana)
Vandana Arora was the fastest women runner from among Indians at the 2023 edition of Boston Marathon. For the Bengaluru-based recreational runner, the 2023 Boston Marathon was her third marathon in this calendar year. She ran the Tata Mumbai Marathon in January this year just after recovering from COVID-19 infection in December 2022.
But a month later at the 2023 New Delhi Marathon, she secured a personal record, covering the distance in 3:24:28.
The 42-year-old recreational runner started her six-star World Marathon Major journey four years ago with the New York City Marathon.
Training under Bengaluru-based Coach Ashok Nath, she was clocking a weekly mileage of 110-115 km, sometimes running twice a day, in the run-up to the New Delhi Marathon. Thereafter, her weekly mileage was lowered. “Ash’s (Ashok Nath) training is uniquely crafted for the various segments of the Boston Marathon course. I did some of my runs at 11 AM because I was scheduled to run around that time at Boston,” Vandana said.
The second part of the training, according to her, was brain training. “ Ash told me that one is often tempted to run fast at the start of the race as the course is downwards. He asked me to restrict my pace for the first 10 kilometres,” Vandana said. She ran as per his plan and completed with a 4-minute improvement in her personal timing. She finished the marathon in 3:20:54.
Deepa Nayak (photo: courtesy Deepa)
Bengaluru-based Deepa Nayak did this year’s Boston Marathon and London Marathon, back-to-back. “Normally, I wouldn’t advise runners to do back-to-back marathons. But I decided to take on this challenge personally,” Deepa said. She is a personal trainer and coach at Asics Running Club and Runners 360.
Her interest in running commenced in 2011 when she took up jogging for health reasons. In a couple of years, the interest deepened and she joined training groups. She got serious about running and after having joined Reebok Running Squad in 2015, she decided to take up the ACE certification course.
She heard about Boston qualification even before she heard about Boston Marathon. “I then learnt about the World Marathon Majors. At the 2020 edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon, I qualified for Boston Marathon,” she said. She registered for the 2020 Berlin Marathon but the race was not held because of COVID-19 pandemic. She did Berlin Marathon in 2022.
Having missed registering for the 2022 Boston Marathon 2022, Deepa had to get a Boston qualifying time afresh to register for the 2023 edition. She ran the 2022 Jaipur Marathon and qualified for Boston with a finish of 3:22:49.
Post Berlin Marathon, Deepa took a break before she started training for Boston Marathon and London Marathon. “I had good training for a month in November 2022,” she said. In December, Deepa lost her father to cardiac arrest. “I came back from my hometown in Siddapur but was emotionally drained to do any training,” she said. She ran the 2023 Tata Mumbai Marathon without any training. Her running continued to suffer in the weeks after TMM. But she focused on strength training and nutrition. A week before she was to leave for Boston, Deepa fell ill. On the day, she was to take her flight out, her friend was admitted to hospital with cardiac issues. “Are these signs that I should not do Boston Marathon? I wondered,” she said.
Finally, she found herself at the start line of Boston Marathon but with very little mileage training.
“At Boston, the first 34 km went off very well but the last eight km was tough because of rain and cold weather,” she said. She finished the run in 3:22:40.
“I started to focus on London Marathon only after I finished Boston. My plan was to give it my best shot but if I fail, I wouldn’t fault myself,” Deepa said. She finished the marathon in 3:23:21. “I was quite surprised with my timings at Boston and London.
Having done three marathons in 2023, Deepa plans to do shorter distance races this year. “I am in the process of completing my nutrition certification. I also want to focus on coaching,” she said.
Gitanjali Lenka (photo: courtesy Gitanjali)
The 2023 Boston Marathon was Gitanjali Lenka’s first World Marathon Major. The Thane-based runner has been a podium finisher at events in India. She was the fastest runner among Indian women at the 2022 Comrades Marathon.
Gitanjali had two months training for Boston Marathon, despite losing a few days to a viral infection.
“The weather was a challenging factor. On Monday morning (day of the race), it started raining. It was very cold. My hands were frozen and I found it difficult to take the gels out. The route was also quite challenging. The route from 24th km to 34th km was very tough. But crowd support and cheering were excellent and kept the runners going,” she said.
Gitanjali finished the marathon in a personal best timing of 3:36:25.
She is now headed to her second World Marathon Major – Berlin in September 2023. She has already commenced training for the marathon. She trains under Ashok Nath.
Ranjini Gupta (photo: courtesy Ranjini)
The 2023 London Marathon was Ranjini Gupta’s fifth World Marathon Major. The Berlin Marathon was her first marathon in the six-marathon circuit, followed by Chicago Marathon in 2017, Tokyo Marathon in 2018 and New York City Marathon in 2019.
Ranjini’s training for London Marathon was quite good. In November 2022, she ran the half marathon at the Ahmedabad Marathon and finished it in 1:45:28. “My timing gave me confidence. I commenced my training for London Marathon in December. I had good months of training up to March and I was able to do speed workouts and long runs of 30 km and 32 km,” she said.
At London Marathon, weather was an issue. “ The rain started just when our race was starting. My shoes were heavy as they were wet. Also, roads along the course were narrow. But I was able to hold on to a 5:14-5:15 per kilometre pace,” Ranjini said. She finished the marathon in 3:41:58. “ I went to London with a lot of apprehensions,” she said. Though not close to her personal best (3:28), she was happy with her finish.
“ I will plan my marathon training after my registration for the 2024 Boston Marathon goes through,” she said. Boston will be the last of her six World Marathon Majors.
Sunmbul Rahman (photo: courtesy Sunmbul)
Sunmbul Rahman did not have any target for the 2023 London Marathon as she was fasting for the holy month of Ramzan. Yet, she surprised herself with a personal record of 3:48:30.
The Kolkata-based runner was not into sports during her school days at La Martiniere. She went through the motions of life and many years later faced a personal tragedy when she lost her husband to cancer. With two small children and restaurant that wasn’t doing too well, Sunmbul found her life spinning out of control. Sometime in 2011, she decided to join a gym for physical fitness. Coincidentally, the gym was organizing a 5 km walk. “ I took part in the walk and I surprised myself with a win,” Sunmbul said. That walk and the podium finish were triggers that propelled her into running. Soon, she found herself running the marathon. “ I also got into mountain climbing and have done four 6000 meter-plus peaks,” she said.
London Marathon was her second World Marathon Major, the first one being Chicago in October 2022. “ London Marathon for me, was an experience. I was fasting for Ramzan until two days before race day. It was a tough run with pouring rain, cold weather and huge crowds all along the course. Because I had to jostle through the crowds, I actually ended up doing 43.3 km,” she said. Her timing has helped her to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
“ For now, I have put a pause on my mountaineering activity. I want to finish the World Marathon Majors first,” Sunmbul said. Given interest in mountaineering, she may also look at ultra running, especially on trails.
Bajrang Singh and Asha Singh (photo: courtesy Bajrang and Asha)
Asha Singh and Bajrang Singh, the runner couple from Lucknow, have been running varied distances, including ultra-running events. Asha also represented India in IAU 24-hour Asia and Oceania Championships held at Bengaluru in July 2022.
The husband-wife couple trained well for Boston Marathon. They landed in the city a few days ahead of the event. “ On Sunday, a day before the marathon, we checked out the route. Monday morning was cold, rainy and windy. We had to put on layers,” Bajrang Singh said. By the time they walked to the start line their shoes got drenched in the rain.
“ When we started our run, the course was very crowded and we had to juggle our way through the crowds. Boston Marathon course is a series of rolling hills. We wanted to run together but Asha had a hamstring problem and she had to slow down her pace,” Bajrang said.
After the 25th kilometre, Bajrang Singh decided to go ahead. “ I ran really fast in the last mile of the race,” he said. Bajrang Singh finished in 3:51:40 and Asha in 4:04:19. “ We are quite happy with our performance here,” he said. They are scheduled to run the 80 km Tuffman Shimla Ultra at Mashobra on June 24, 2023.
“ We plan to do the Berlin Marathon this year if we manage to get into it. If not, we may do the 72 km Khardung La Challenge in Ladakh,” Asha said. Currently in the U.S., they are due to come back to India in June. “ We are right now at Charlotte in North Carolina. The undulating terrain helps us to train for the Mashobra event,” he said.
Neelam Vaid (right) with her brother Tarun Gulati (Photo: courtesy Neelam)
Pune-based Neelam Vaid has been running seriously since 2013. An ENT surgeon, Neelam has been climbing mountains in the Himalaya over the past few years. Having done her first marathon in 2014, she decided to go ahead and try the World Marathon Majors.
Training for the 2023 London Marathon was tough for Neelam. “ The heat and pollution in Aundh, where I stay, was quite high making long runs quite a challenge,” she said. Her training was inadequate. “ I missed runs and I often never reached my target pace,” she said. She trains under Coach Atul Godbole.
But her run at London Marathon was “amazing”. “ Words can’t describe the experience of running the London Marathon. Weather was bad. It was pouring at the start. My shoes were wet and my hands froze. But the crowd support carries you through from the first kilometre to the last,” she said.
London Marathon, according to Neelam, has the best crowd support among the World Marathon Majors that she has competed in – Boston Marathon and Berlin Marathon (both in 2022). “ Parts of the course are narrow and get crowded but the vibe from runners and crowds keeps one going,” she said. Neelam finished the marathon in 3:58:20, a new personal best and within the Boston Marathon qualifying time.
“ This was a special run for me. My brother Tarun Gulati also ran the marathon. Together, we raised 6000 pounds for Alzheimer’s Research UK, against the target of 5000 pounds,” she said.
After a short break, she plans to resume training for the 2023 Chicago Marathon, due in October this year.
Ashish Agarwal (photo: courtesy Ashish)
Ashish Agarwal started running just about four years ago. The Nagpur-based tax lawyer led a largely undisciplined life leading to obesity. “ Some of my friends were into running. They asked me to start running. In August 2018, I enrolled for a 3 km run,” he said. In 2019, he ran a half marathon at the Pondicherry Marathon. The following year at Tata Mumbai Marathon, he did the full marathon.
The COVID-19 lockdown came as a boon as he could run in the morning and cycle in the evening. With running events resuming in 2022, Ashish was able to run the Jaipur Marathon. The benefits of working out during the lockdown period paid off as he was able to get a personal best timing of 3:38:25 at this marathon. In September 2022, he was able to do the Berlin Marathon.
He signed up for the 2023 London Marathon but three months prior to the event he met with an accident. “ Window shutters fell on my hands and I was required to go in for surgery. I stood at the start line of London Marathon without any practice,” Ashish, 41, said.
He finished the marathon in 4:01:47. “ This run was entirely a mental game. It turned out to be a good run. It was raining throughout. All along the route there were so many volunteers cheering,” he said. Qualifying for Boston is certainly on the cards, he said.
Kaustubh Radkar (photo: courtesy Kaustubh)
Way back in 2006 when India was just beginning its journey into recreational runner, Dr Kaustabh Radkar ran the New York City Marathon. In 2010, he once again ran the same marathon. A former national level swimmer, Kaustabh had, in the meanwhile, started his journey in the Ironman triathlon.
Even as he continued his foray into triathlon and running events, he decided to persist with his participation in the World Marathon Major circuit. After a long gap he ran the Berlin Marathon in 2017. Two years later, he ran the Chicago Marathon. When events resumed post-pandemic in 2022, he was able to do the London Marathon. Early March 2023, he did Tokyo Marathon.
“ At Boston, I just wanted to soak in the experience. It was raining and very cold but the crowds were out in full support,” Kaustabh said. He was due to do Texas Ironman five days later. “ My goal was to finish Boston Marathon comfortably as I had to do Ironman in less than a week,” he said. The Texas Ironman was his 34th Ironman triathlon.
With his run at the 2023 Boston Marathon, he earned his six-star World Marathon Major medal. By the end of that week, he had also finished his 34th Ironman.
Mukesh Yeole (photo: courtesy Mukesh)
Pune-based Mukesh Yeole commenced his six-star World Marathon Majors in 2017 when he ran the Berlin Marathon. A real estate developer, Mukesh started running in 2014 with a 10 km run.
Following the Berlin Marathon, he participated in the New York City Marathon in 2018. In 2019, he completed Tokyo Marathon and Chicago Marathon. In 2022, he did London Marathon.
At the 2023 edition of Boston Marathon Mukesh got his six-star World Marathon medal. The trains with Radstrong Coaching. Mukesh said that he enjoyed the Boston Marathon. “ It was a very nice environment in Boston, some rain, some wind. Support was very good,” Mukesh said. He completed the Boston Marathon in 4:16:31.
Having completed with the six World Marathon Majors, Mukesh now aims to do one international marathon every year.
A triathlete, Mukesh has enrolled for Tallinn 70.3 Ironman but is likely to skip it. “ I won’t be participating in this Ironman because of some urgent work,” he said.
Deepti Karthik (photo: courtesy Deepti)
The 2023 Boston Marathon was Deepti Karthik’s fourth World Marathon Major. In 2019, she had completed three World Marathon Majors – London Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon.
Following the years lost to the pandemic, Deepti was hoping to resume her running but an injury put paid to her plans. She enrolled for the 2023 Tata Mumbai Marathon and New Delhi Marathon 2023 but decided not to do these as she did not want to jeopardize the recovery. “ When I resumed my training, I had to start afresh but was able to do long runs,” she said.
Travelling to Boston one niggling worry remained, that of weather. Boston is known for fluctuations in weather. The 2018 Boston Marathon had challenging weather with temperatures dipping to the coldest in 30 years combined with rain and heavy winds. That year, Deepti’s husband Karthik Anand had participated in Boston Marathon.
“ We kept track of the weather. When we landed in Boston it was very hot. We did a short run. But by Saturday it cooled down and by night it started drizzling. We had registered for a 5 km-run held on Saturday. It went off well,” she said.
On the morning of race day, the drizzle continued. “ While I waited in the holding area, at around 11 AM, the rain ceased briefly and the sun came out. But along the course at around 18 to 25 km it started raining again. The route was challenging and I had to stick to a slow pace,” she said. Deepti finished the run in 4:30:55.
She is due to run the Berlin Marathon in September this year.
(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)
Outrigger 