Man Singh, Bhagirathi Bisht win 2025 New Delhi Marathon

Man Singh of the Indian Army won the 2025 New Delhi Marathon held on February 23 with a timing of two hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds. He is the reigning champion of the Asian Marathon Championships and had finished second at the 2025 Tata Mumbai Marathon.

The women’s elite race was won by Bhagirathi Bisht in 2:48:59. Nirmaben Thakor, winner among women at the 2025 Tata Mumbai Marathon, finished second in the women’s race with a timing of 2:49:16. In third place was Ashwini Jadhav with a timing of 2:50:48. She had won the 2024 edition of the New Delhi Marathon. Bhagwati Dangi finished fourth (3:09:04) and Disket Dolma fifth (3:10:53). Disket had finished ninth with a timing of 3:19:29 at the 2025 Tata Mumbai Marathon.

In the men’s race, finishing five seconds behind Man Singh was Pardeep Singh Chaudhary (2:15:29). In third place was Akshay Saini (2:15:34). In fourth place was Kulbir Singh (2:17:18) and in fifth place was the well-known elite marathoner Gopi Thonakal (2:18:23). Gopi, the former Asian marathon champion, had finished third at the 2025 Tata Mumbai Marathon.

The open category race was won by Manjit Singh (2:23:35) in the men’s category and by Anubhuti Chaturvedi (3:13:41) in the women’s category.

In the half marathon, the the winner in the men’s segment was Harmanjot Singh (1:04:36). Tseganeshg Mekonnen (1:23:55) was the winer among women.

Anant Gaonkar, Jyoti Gawate win 50 km race at 2025 Tata Ultra

Anant Gaonkar and Jyoti Gawate were the winners of the 50 km race at the 2025 Tata Ultra held at Lonavala on February 23.

Anand Gaonkar covered the distance in 3:13:11. Abhishek Soni came in second finishing in 3:14:02. In third place was Amar Singh Devanda, who finished in 3:21:35. Amar holds the national record for the 24-hour ultra-run with 272.54 km covered.

In the women’s race, Jyoti Gawate, an elite marathon runner, defended her 2024 title with a winning finish of 4:06:50. Seema finished second with a timing of 4:14:34 and Ekta Rawat came in third with a timing of 4:18:03.

In the newly introduced 75 km race, Rohit Singh was the winner of the men’s race (6:05:13) and Arti Agrawal of the women’s race (8:32:38).

Following Rohit to the finish line were Dev Chaudhary (6:20:21) in second place and Praful Vanjare (6:27:40). In the women’s race, Rita Patkar finished second (8:59:23).

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

New world record in women’s 5km road race

The world of road races closed 2024 in style with Kenyan runner Beatrice Chebet rewriting the world record for the women’s 5km race.

She clocked an impressive 13 minutes and 54 seconds at the Cursa del Nassos, a World Athletics Label road race held in Barcelona, Spain on December 31. “ In doing so, the 24-year old Kenyan bettered the previous record by 19 seconds,’’ a report on the website of World Athletics said. The new record is subject to the usual ratification process. Chebet’s achievement of December 31 makes her the first woman to go sub-14 minutes for the distance on any surface – road or track. Chebet is the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 5000m and 10,000m.

Chebet is expected in India in mid-February 2025, when she would be participating in the first edition of the SFC Global 10K in Navi Mumbai.

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

Sydney Marathon to be the 7th World Marathon Major in 2025

TCS Sydney Marathon has been announced as the seventh World Marathon Major from 2025.

The Australian city will join the Abbott World Marathon Major series that currently includes Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York and Tokyo.

The 2025 edition of Sydney Marathon is slated to be held on August 31, 2025.

Two other marathons – Cape Town in South Africa and Shanghai in China – are likely to be added to the World Marathon Majors list, the Abbott.com website said.

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

Sable breaks national record for the tenth time

Avinash Sable set a new national record in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, clocking eight minutes and 9.91 seconds at the recently held Paris Diamond League. It was an improvement by over one second from his previous national record of 8:11.20 set at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he took silver. This was the tenth time Sable was breaking the national record. The race in Paris was won by Abrham Sime of Ethiopia in 8:02.36. He narrowly edged out Kenya’s Amos Serem, who had the same timing. The third position was secured by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot (8:06.70). The Diamond League is a set of track and field events organized by World Athletics, the apex governing body for athletics worldwide. Sable is the reigning Asian Games gold medallist in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. According to the Times of India, prior to the latest result, Sable had competed only twice this season. He clocked 8:21.85 in Portland (Portland Track Festival 2024) and 8:31.75 at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula, both in June. India’s best steeplechaser to date now heads to the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduled to be held over July 26 to August 11.

Ten runners to represent India at Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship 2024

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has chosen the team to represent India at the Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship to be held in Ulsan City, South Korea, from October 23-27, 2024.

Ten runners will represent India in two categories of races – long trail of 80 kilometres and short trail of 40 km, a statement from AFI said.

Four runners including one woman will participate in the long trail race. The male runners are Hemant Limbu, Prabal Chettri and Kieren Dsouza. Ashwini Ganapathi will be in the women’s team of the long trail race.

In the short trail race, the five male runners chosen are Nimsang Limboo, Som Bahadur Thami, Aman, Nilesh Nandkishor Kulaye and Sandeep Kumar. Nupur Singh will be in the women’s team of the short trail race.

(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai)

Geeno Antony sets new course record for the 90 km-race at Ooty Ultra

Ultrarunner Geeno Antony set a new course record for the 90-kilometre-race at the 2024 edition of Ooty Ultra, held on March 31, 2024.

He finished the 90 km distance in nine hours, 52 minutes and 24 seconds, a new course record. The previous best finish timing for 90 km race at the event was 10:29:11, set by the winner of the 2023 edition, Sugourav Goswami.

“ It is a superb event in every respect – the route, the hydration support, volunteers. I did not know it would be so good. There was hydration support every four km,” Geeno Antony said.

The route was a constant progression of inclines and declines, sometimes very steep, he said.

According to information on the Ooty Ultra website, the 90 km race route has a total elevation gain of 2642 metres.

“ Weather was slightly cool in the early hours of the race. It did get quite warm later,” Geeno said.

New course records were set for both the men’s and women’s 30 km race. The men’s race was won by Josh Fisher of Australia (2:33:38). The women’s race was won by Tim Tim Sharma (2:48:47).

The 60 km men’s race was won by Paras Khushalani (6:02:10) and the women’s by Dolly (8:14:49). Paras holds the course record for the 60 km race (5:52:02) set during the 2023 edition of Ooty Ultra.

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

Gopi Thonakal, Ashvini Jadhav win 2024 New Delhi Marathon

Gopi Thonakal, among India’s leading marathon runners and owner of the best timing in the discipline since the late national record holder Shivnath Singh, won the overall title at the 2024 Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon.

He covered the distance in two hours, 14 minutes and 35 seconds to secure the gold medal, which was however quite distant from the Paris Olympics qualifying mark of 2:08:10. Srinu Bughata, the winner of the 2024 Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM), finished three seconds behind Gopi. Akshay Saini finished third with a timing of 2:15:24 (please note: all the timings have been taken from the results available on the website of the official time keeper for the race).

Mid-January at the 2024 TMM, Srinu had won in 2:17:29 with Gopi taking the second spot with timing of 2:18:37.

Among Indian women at the 2024 New Delhi Marathon, Ashvini Jadhav was the winner with her finish of 2:52:21. She secured a personal best in this race. TMM’s winner among elite Indian women, Thakor Nirmaben Bharatjee, finished in second position with a timing of 2:55:44. In third position was Divyanka Chaudhary, who crossed the finish line in 2:57:03.

The open category race of the marathon in New Delhi was won by Amit Khanduri in a timing of 2:29:20. The women’s race was won by Saraswati Rai with a timing of 3:02:46.

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

Tirtha Pun wins 2023 Vasai Virar Municipal Marathon

Tirtha Pun of the army’s Gorkha Regiment took top honours at the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon held on Sunday, December 10, 2023.

He won the marathon, covering the distance in two hours, 21 minutes and 48 seconds. Defending champion Mohit Rathor (2:26:43) had to settle for the second position after he suffered cramps at around the 30th kilometre. Tadakhe Sikandar Chindhu from Uttarakhand finished third with timing of 2:28:36.

Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon was organised by the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation and the Vasai Taluka Kala Krida Vikas Mandal.

M D Nurhasan was the winner of the men’s half marathon. He covered the distance in 1:04:45, eight seconds outside the course record of 1:04:37 set by Anish Thapa in 2022. Puneet Yadav finished second with timing of 1:04:49 and Arun Rathod finished third in 1:04:53.

In the women’s half marathon race, Prajakta Godbole was the winner with timing of 1:18:12. In second place was Tamsi Singh (1:20:09) and in third place, Phoolan Pal (1:20:28).

In the open category, Manoj Kumar Yadav was the winner of the men’s race with timing of 2:27:25; Ashvini Jadhav (3:06:38) won the women’s race.

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

2023 New York City Marathon / Tola and Obiri win

Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola topped the men’s category of the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon with a new course record of two hours, four minutes and 58 seconds.

The women’s race was won by Kenya’s Hellen Obiri; she covered the distance in 2:27:23.

Tola, the 2022 world champion in the discipline, was followed to the finish line in New York by Kenya’s Albert Korir (2:06:57) and Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata (2:07:11). In the women’s category, Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey (2:27:29) and Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi (2:27:33) placed second and third respectively.

More than 50,000 people participated in the 53rd edition of the New York City Marathon. As per the report on the event published by Runners World, Tola, who was part of the lead pack from the start, began putting distance between himself and the rest of the pack at around 25 kilometres. For some time in this evolving separation he had the company of fellow countryman Yemal Yimer but at about eight miles left to go, Tola started to pull away from Yimer too. The new course record at run’s close was an improvement on the old by eight seconds.

The women’s race threw up no new course record. But it was more tightly contested than Tola’s passage to victory. Here, the top three finishers battled each other right into the last mile and it was over the last 600 metres or so that Obiri sprinted ahead to take the top spot. Gidey finished close behind. Obiri is the first athlete in 34 years to win both the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon in the same season, Runners World said in its report.   

According to Wikipedia, Hellen Obiri is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor and outdoor track and cross country. As of November 2023, Letesenbet Gidey held the world record for both the 10,000 metres and the half marathon.

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

Asian Games: Sable gets gold in 3000m steeplechase, three days later adds a silver in 5000m

Avinash Sable has become the first Indian man to win a gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Games.

On October 1, 2023 (Sunday), at the ongoing edition of the Games in Hangzhou, China, he completed the race in eight minutes, 19.50 seconds, a new Asian Games record. The previous record of 8:22.79 was set by Iran’s Hossein Keyhani at the 2018 Jakarta Games. Following Sable to silver and bronze respectively were Japan’s Ryoma Aoki (8:23.75) and Seiya Sunada (8:26.47).

“ Unlike his energy conservation strategy at the Budapest World Championships, Sable raced ahead to build a distance between himself and the rest of the field and won the race by a massive distance. In the final 50m, Sable turned around to see no one close to him as he approached the end and celebrated as he crossed the finish line,’’ Sportstar noted while reporting Sable’s win.

Three days later, on October 4, Sable treated himself to a silver in the men’s 5000m. Defending champion, Birhanu Yemataw Balew of Bahrain, won the competition by in a new Asian Games record of 13:17.40. Sable followed in 13:21.09 while Dawit Fikadu Admasu of Bahrain secured the bronze in 13:25.63.

Sable holds the national record in the 3000m steeplechase – 8:11.20. That mark was set at the Commonwealth Games in Brimingham in 2022, where Sable took silver. The first Indian to win a gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Games was Sudha Singh. She struck gold at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

In addition to his prominence in the steeplechase, Sable holds the national record in the men’s 5000m (13:19.30). He also holds the national record in the half marathon – one hour, 30 seconds (1:00:30) set at the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon.

Parul Chaudhary gets gold in women’s 5000m and silver in women’s 3000m steeplechase

India’s Parul Chaudhary secured the gold medal in the women’s 5000m at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

On October 3, 2023, she clocked 15 minutes, 14.75 seconds to win the race. She was followed to the finish line by Japan’s Ririka Hironaka (15:15.34) and Kazakhstan’s Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui (15:23.12) who took silver and bronze respectively. This was the second track medal for Parul at the current edition of the Games.

Earlier on October 2, 2023, she had won the silver medal in the women’s 3000m steeplechase competition. She finished the race in nine minutes, 27.63 seconds (9:27.63).

Parul holds the women’s national record (9:15.31) in the event. Her compatriot Priti Lamba (9:43.32) placed third in the women’s steeplechase in Hangzhou.

The gold medal went to Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi (9:18.28). The reigning world champion, her timing was a new Asian Games record.

Among India’s versatile distance runners, Parul has a portfolio of disciplines that spans the women’s 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon.

New course records at 2023 Spartathlon

The 2023 Spartathlon witnessed new course records in both the women’s and men’s races.

American ultrarunner, Camille Heron, who won the women’s race finished in 22 hours, 35 minutes and 25 seconds. This was an improvement in the women’s course record by over two hours, Canadian Running Magazine informed. The previous record was held by Patrycja Bereznowska; 24:48:18 set in 2018. Finnish runners Noora Honkala (23:22:56) and Satu Lipiainen (23:48:28) finished second and third respectively.

In the men’s section, Fotis Zisimopoulos (19:55:02) won with a new course record. The previous record was in the name of Yiannis Kouros (20:25:00) set in 1984, the magazine said. Second place went to Simen Holvik of Norway (22:17:17). Uruguay’s Andres Fernando Roman Martinez (23:32:53) placed third.

Held annually in Greece, Spartathlon has a course length of 246 kilometres.

(The authors, Latha Venkatraman and Shyam G Menon, are independent journalists based in Mumbai. The 2023 Spartathlon timings quoted herein have been taken from the results provided on the race website.)

Courtney Dauwalter, Jim Walmsley win UTMB 2023

American ultrarunners Courtney Dauwalter and Jim Wamsley claimed the top spots at the 100-mile Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB) held over August 28 to September 3, 2023.

Jim Walmsley is the first American man to win the 100-mile race; he did so in his fifth attempt.

He also set a new course record with his finish in 19 hours, 37 minutes and 43 seconds, setting aside Killian Jornet’s course record of 19:49:30 hours.

Courtney Dauwalter won with timing of 23:29:14.

AFI names 12 ultrarunners for IAU 24-Hour World Championship Taiwan

The Athletic Federation of India (AFI) has named the team of 12 ultrarunners to represent Indian at the IAU 24 Hour World Championships to be held in Chinese Taipei in December this year, AFI said in a circular.

The team includes six women and six male runners. Women runners chosen include Anju Saini, Aparna Choudhary, Preeti Lala, Shashi Mehta, Meenal Kotak and Priyanka Bhatt. The men’s team includes Velu Perumal, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Amar Singh Devanda, Geeno Antony, Badal Teotia and Ullas Narayana.

The selection criterion for the World Championships mandates that male runners complete 220 km or more during a 24-hour race held between July 1, 2022 and August 10, 2023. Women runners are required to cover a distance of 180 km or more.

As proof of fitness, runners are required to have run a 12-hour or a 100 km event during the period January 1, 2023 and August 10, 2023, AFI had said in an earlier circular.

In another circular, AFI said it plans to send a team of six female and six male runners for the IAU 50 km World Championship to be held in Hyderabad in November 2023.

The qualifying cut-off timing for male runners is completing a marathon in 2:50 hours and for women 3:20 hours in a race held between November 5, 2022 and August 10, 2023.

Courtney Dauwalter smashes women’s course record at Western States, Hardrock 100

Courtney Dauwalter, American ultrarunner, smashed course records at two major ultramarathon events in a period of three weeks.

At the Western States, a 100-mile endurance run and the world’s oldest trail run, Courtney broke the women’s course record by nearly 80 minutes. She finished the race in 15 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. The race was held on June 24-25, 2023.

Three weeks later, she broke the course record at Hardrock 100, also a 100-mile race. She finished the counter-clockwise course in 26:14:08, smashing the course record by an hour and four minutes. (Hardrock alternates the circular course every year). She already holds the course record for the clockwise direction.

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