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.

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.

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.

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, 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, 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.

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.

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, 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.

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 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.

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.)

Rosemary Wanjiru tops among women, Deso Gelmisa among men. Around 38,000 runners participate. Record 3033 runners get their six star medal.

The full-fledged version of the Tokyo Marathon, one of the six World Marathon Majors, was held on March 5, 2023, after a gap of three years.

Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya and Deso Gelmisa of Ethiopia won the women’s and men’s race respectively, at the World Athletics Platinum Label race.

In the men’s race it was an Ethiopian sweep with Gelmisa crossing the finish line in two hours, five minutes and 21 minutes. His compatriot Mohamed Esa finished alongside in the same timing to place second by the narrowest of margins. Tsegaye Getachew, also of Ethiopia, finished in third position, a mere three seconds behind the lead pair.

In the women’s race Rosemary Wanjiru won with timing of 2:16:28. Tsehay Gemechu of Ethiopia (2:16:56) finished second and her compatriot Ashete Bekere (2:19:11) finished third. According to Runner’s World, this was Rosemary Wanjiru’s second career marathon and her first major victory.

Japan is among countries where running is a very popular sport. About 38,000 runners from around the world participated in the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Included in these numbers were those running to complete their six World Marathon Majors. Runners completing the circuit of these marathon majors are awarded a six-star medal at the end of their individual sixth marathon.

The 2023 Tokyo Marathon secured place in the Guinness World Records for having the highest number of runners finishing for a six-star medal at a single marathon. According to Abbott World Marathon Majors website, 3033 runners earned the six-star medal at Tokyo Marathon. This was a massive rise from the previous high of 732 runners at the 2019 edition of the Tokyo Marathon.

Runners who had finished five of the six World Marathon Majors in 2019 had to wait for three years until 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, to complete their sixth marathon.

Returning after three years, Tokyo Marathon had mandated that runners download a health app and upload temperature details daily for a few days in the run-up to the marathon. Also, they were required to do a couple of rapid antigen tests. They were also mandated to carry their smart phones to the start line of the marathon. This rule was tough for many runners as they do not normally train carrying their mobile phones. Runners were also disallowed from carrying their own water bottles during the run. The rule impacted the hydration plan of some runners.

Another rule that did not sit well with some runners was the requirement to avoid discarding layers along the marathon route. This is possible in many international marathons. Later, the rule was partially relaxed but runners were allowed to discard layers only at the start of the run.

We spoke to a few of the runners from India about their experience running the marathon and completing the six-star World Marathon Majors.

Pune-based marathon runner Kavitha Reddy was to participate in the 2020 edition of the Tokyo Marathon but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions put a pause on her plan of completing the six-marathon cycle.

“A major challenge was to keep up the fitness level for at least one more year,” Kavitha said. At that point in time, the pandemic was an unknown entity and the world was clueless when it would end.

Overall, the lockdown and the absence of races helped runners to focus on their strength training. “I was able to keep up my fitness level throughout the three years. The lockdown period did help,” Kavitha said.

In October 2022, Kavitha ran the Melbourne Marathon finishing in 3:07:13 and also securing a second position in her age category.

“At Tokyo, my target was to maintain the same pace as Melbourne – 4:21 per kilometre. Instead of focussing on the finish time, I decided to focus on pace,” she said.

Although there were anxieties about the various rules that Tokyo Marathon had mandated there were no hitches on the day of the marathon. “From the point of entry to the race and the finish, everything was well-organised. It is an extremely disciplined country,” Kavitha said.

As it was quite cold, Kavitha approached the start line with layers, which she discarded at the start line. “Normally, I would have discarded the layers once I am two kilometres into the race. It was cold but during the race I was zoned out about the weather difficulties. Only after I finished the race, I realised that my shoulders had frozen. I could not lift my arms,” she said.

She finished strong with a new personal best of 3:05:08.

Going forward, her focus will continue to be on the marathon. She is confident about chopping some more minutes from her time to finish but at the same time is aware of limitations to potential improvements in timing.

Bengaluru-based Ambuj Kumar started recreational running as recent as 2018. A year later, he commenced attempting the six Marathon Majors with the aim of completing all six within 365 days.

For him, the year 2019 entailed a schedule that packed in many marathons. The year started with Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon in January. This was followed by London Marathon in April, Berlin Marathon in September, Chicago Marathon in October and New York City Marathon in November.

“I wanted to be the first Indian to do all six Marathon Majors in a one-year period,” he said. The plan was to do Tokyo Marathon and Boston Marathon in 2020. But that was not to be because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, he completed Boston Marathon in 2022. “Two months before Boston, I contracted COVID-19. Nevertheless, Boston Marathon for me was a good race,” he said.

Ambuj ended up training for Tokyo Marathon three times – once in 2020, then in 2021 and finally in 2023.

Japan, according to Ambuj, is an amazing country. On race day, weather in Tokyo was quite cold prompting runners to wear layers ahead of the run.

“For me, it was a wonderful race. Though, my best experience was at the Boston Marathon,” Ambuj said. He finished Tokyo Marathon in 3:29:57.

Having completed his six-star World Marathon Majors, he may consider looking at distances beyond 42.2 km. In the meanwhile, he is due to run the 2023 edition of Berlin Marathon, his second time there.

Ramanjit Singh Oberoi started casual running in 2009 when he found he had the time for it. In 2011, he heard about the Delhi Half Marathon and enrolled for his first half marathon in 2013 at the same event.

During the 2017 Mumbai Marathon, Ramanjit, 64, heard about the Boston Marathon and its stringent qualification norms. In 2018, he ran the New Delhi Marathon and qualified for Boston Marathon in his age category. This, set in motion the process to start the six-star World Marathon Majors journey.

In 2019, Ramanjit ran many races including Boston Marathon, Berlin Marathon, New York City Marathon and the Comrades Ultramarathon. After a two-year gap due to the pandemic, he did the London Marathon and Chicago Marathon in October 2022.

For Ramanjit, Tokyo Marathon went off quite well until the 34th kilometre. “After about 34 km I got a back ache and I had to take walk breaks to keep going,” he said. He finished the Tokyo Marathon in 3:40:24.

During the pandemic months, he also got into long-distance cycling, including one trip from India Gate in Delhi to Gateway of India in Mumbai and another from Delhi to Manali.

Having lived in Japan for eight years, Ashoke Sharma, now a resident of London, was not unduly perturbed by the rules mandated by the Tokyo Marathon.

“Japan is a rule-based society but I know the psyche of the people of the country,” he said.

In 2018, Ashoke ran Berlin Marathon and in the process qualified for the Boston Marathon but he ended up doing the latter only in 2022. He followed it up with the New York City Marathon in the same year. In 2019, he completed the London Marathon and the Chicago Marathon.

In January this year, Ashoke shifted to London on work and took up residence near Kensington Park. “My training went off quite well. It was fantastic, running in the park and very safe,” he said referring to a recent incident in Mumbai when a runner was fatally knocked down by a speeding car.

In Tokyo, Ashoke suffered an ankle-twist around the 10th km mark. “Thereafter, it was tough, running. I had to walk the last 16 km. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it as it was my last one among the World Marathon Majors,” he said. He finished the marathon in 4:02:48.

Going forward, he may look at attempting a triathlon. “I am divided between focussing on the marathon and the triathlon. Now that I am based in London, I may opt to run some of the marathons in this part of the world,” he said.

“In Tokyo, rules were strange but eventually everything worked out fine,” said Sunil Chainani, a Bengaluru-based runner.

He was one among the many runners waiting to finish his six-star World Marathon Majors. Some of the rules mandated by the Tokyo Marathon gave anxious moments to runners.

“We were asked to carry our mobile phones to the start line of the Tokyo Marathon. I don’t run with my phone normally,” he said adding that there were many issues such as crowded expo, cold weather and the requirement to fill out details in a health app.

Also, the course, though largely flat, had many U-turns and was constantly crowded with runners. Overall, the run went off quite well. “Japanese people are extremely helpful. There were many aid stations,” he said.

Sunil said his training for the Tokyo Marathon was inadequate. He finished the marathon in 4:22. “This was my fifth marathon in 10 and a half months,” he said. He plans to take a break from running marathons now.

He had run Berlin Marathon for the first time way back in 2008. He went back and ran the same marathon in 2018 to start his six-star World Marathon Major journey.

Waiting to complete the six-star World Marathon Major circuit, Pervin Batliwala, runner from Mumbai, trained quite well for the Tokyo Marathon.

Despite good training ahead of the race, some of the stringent rules mandated by the organisers of Tokyo Marathon did perturb Pervin. “The rule not allowing us to carry water bottles during the run was tough. I am used to taking gels during the run and I usually drink water after consuming gels. At Tokyo Marathon, I could not take as many gels as I had planned,” she said. Nevertheless, the overall experience of finishing the pursuit of the six World Marathon Majors and running a very well organised race in Tokyo was quite satisfying. She finished the race in 4:33:09.

Pervin had commenced her World Marathon Majors journey with her 2017 Boston Marathon race. In 2015, she ran the Comrades Ultramarathon and the next year she did the 72 km Khardung La Challenge in Ladakh.

Pervin now wants to attempt doing a triathlon and also focus on swimming events.

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

American ultrarunner Camille Herron sets new 48-hr world record

Camille Herron, ultrarunner from the US, set a new 48-hour world record at the 2023 Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival held at Canberra, Australia from March 24 to 26, 2023.

Camille ran a distance of 435.336 kilometers (270.505 miles) during the stipulated period beating the record of 411.458 km set in February 2023 by UK’s Joasia Zakrzeski at the 2023 Taipei Ultramarathon.

Camille completed 1088 laps of 400 metres each at Canberra.

Only two athletes have covered distances more than Camille during 48 hours, both men.

Andrew Tkachuk, from Ukraine, has covered a distance of 435.466 km. Greek runner, Yiannis Kouros, holds the men’s world record of 473.495 km.

Following her record breaking-run, Camille noted on her Facebook page: “ Through all the pain, I found joy in knowing I was fulfilling a purpose in life. I had to keep going, keep pushing through every challenge and find out what’s possible…This was my 3rd try for 48Hrs. I finally got it right. Don’t give up on your goals and dreams, no matter how many times it takes.’’

Indian ultrarunners qualify for IAU 24-hr World Championships at Chinese Taipei

Several Indian ultrarunners qualified recently for the IAU 24 Hour World Championships to be held later this year in Chinese Taipei.

At a recent stadium run in Bengaluru, four male runners and two female runners qualified for the upcoming championships.

Amar Singh Devanda, Velu Perumal, Badal Teotia and Geeno Antony qualified with mileages in excess of 220 km, the qualifying mark set by Athletics Federation of India, during the 24-hour period. Amar won the race with a distance of 234 km. He was followed by Velu (232 km), Badal (223.6 km) and Geeno (222.8 km).

Among women, Shashi Mehta won the race with a distance of 196 km. The qualifying mark for women was set at 180 km. Aparna Choudhary also qualified with a distance of 180.8 km.

At the Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Track Festival held at Canberra, Australia, on March 24-26, 2023, an additional two Indian runners qualified for the Taipei Championships. Running a 24-hour race, Ullas Narayana covered a distance of 220.636 km during the 24-hour period. Priyanka Bhatt of Mumbai covered a distance of 184.577 km during the stipulated period.

Record three finishers at Barkley Marathon this year

Barkley Marathons, a gruelling ultrarunning event held every year, typically sees few finishers or no finishers at all.

For the second time in its history, a record three athletes completed the 2023 edition of Barkley Marathons. The race is held every year in Tennessee, USA.

The three finishers were John Kelly from USA, Aurelien Sanchez from France and Karel Sabbe from Belgium. John Kelly was also a finisher in the 2017 edition of the race.

Barkley Marathons had three finishers in 2012.

The race held in Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park is made up of five loops of about 20 miles through brushy mountains with an elevation gain of around 63,000 feet. The race is to be completed in 60 hours.

The race did not have any finishers for the past five years.

2022 Golden Globe Race / Race leaders complete their second equator crossing

The race leaders of the 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR), Kirsten Neuschafer of South Africa and Abhilash Tomy of India, have completed their second equator-crossing of the race, this time on the way back to the start / finish line in France. GGR entails a solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the planet. On the event’s live tracker, as of March 31, Kirsten with 2840.1 nautical miles to the finish continued to be in first place; Abhilash with 3137.8 nautical miles left to cover, was in second position.

Interestingly, Simon Curwen of the UK, despite having halted in Chile for repairs and relegated thus to the race’s Chichester Class, had caught up with the race leaders and was in the same region of the Atlantic. He had 2927.4 nautical miles remaining to the finish line. Given the weather conditions known to characterise these parts, progress has been slow. It is hoped that the trio should now gradually exit the Atlantic’s doldrums.

For Gopi, a setback at 2023 Seoul Marathon

Elite Indian marathoner T. Gopi had a setback at the 2023 Seoul Marathon held on March 19. During the run, he experienced a problem in his hamstring. He finished in 26th place with timing of 2:18:53. According to him, the race was progressing well and he was maintaining a pace of around 3.12 when after the 32nd kilometre, he suddenly felt a catch in his hamstring. He had to stop, stretch and jog the remaining distance.

In January 2023, Gopi had won the Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2:16:41, signalling a return to good performance after knee surgery and months of the sporting calendar impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

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Everyone needs a job. In India, `sports quota’ has often helped athletes find employment. But it isn’t a level playing field and among things altering parity in consideration is our obsession with the Olympics. This story from the world of ultramarathon in India, was published in mainstream media in August 2022. There have been changes since to world records quoted. The updated figures may be found in the post script.

At the heart of performance in sport lay the human body and mind, both of which, require maintenance. Livelihood, jobs – these are as important for sportspersons as anyone else. Perhaps more, because athletes often come from tough financial backgrounds.

Not long ago in Shillong, an ultrarunner who was part of an Indian team that secured silver at an international championship abroad, wished to apply for a job under sports quota. The person needed an official letter establishing association with the sport and a silver medal-winning team. The letter couldn’t be put together.

It is a predicament best understood obliquely.

For years, what enthralled us in running were the sprint events. Speed exemplified running. However, away from the sprints, a different beast took shape. By the time of the 2018 Berlin Marathon, the world record in the marathon had reduced to two hours, one minute and 39 seconds, courtesy Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge. In 2019, at an unofficial event in Vienna, he broke the two hour-barrier and covered the 42.195 km in 1:59:40.2. Such performances showcased a fantastic pace of running sustained over a long distance. Kipchoge is regarded as the greatest marathoner. But some wonder – isn’t he the greatest runner? In select quarters, the Kipchoge debate has itself got challenged with the ascent of Lithuanian ultrarunner, Aleksandr Sorokin. He holds the world record for 24 hours (309.4 kilometres) and 100 miles (160 kilometres, covered in 10 hours, 51 minutes and 39 seconds).

Anything over a marathon distance, is an ultramarathon. Usually in the sport, ultra-distances start from 50 kilometres. India’s formal entry into ultrarunning happened late. It is not long since the country became a member of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). All the same, India’s showing on the world stage has been encouraging. Over the past few years, the country had picked up a couple of individual bronze medals, a team gold (men) and a team silver (women) – all that at the continental level. In July 2022, at the IAU 24-hour Asia & Oceania Championships in Bengaluru, Indian ultrarunners not only maintained the team gold and silver they had won before, they also swept the podium in the men’s category as regards individual medals and rewrote the national best time for 24 hour-running in both the men’s and women’s categories.

Ultrarunning is a demanding sport. In Bengaluru, exhausted ultrarunners had to be helped on to the podium during the awards ceremony. They were a bunch, at once tired, sleepy and happy for they had been running or walking near continuously for the previous 24 hours. The winner – Amar Singh Devanda of India – covered 257.62 kilometres. That’s over six marathons at one go. Yet, between the marathon and the ultramarathon is a gulf of disparity in how sport is perceived.

Despite it showcasing extreme endurance, ultrarunning is not an Olympic sport (it is also not part of the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games). Nadeem Khan, president, IAU, said recently in Bengaluru, “ the goal is always to be in the Olympics.’’ But there is a challenge to address. The Olympics prefers broadcast-friendly sports and sport formats. Ultrarunning – even as it is getting faster – is time consuming given the long distances covered. The reading is that to get into the Olympics, ultrarunning may have to showcase one of the smaller distances in its fold. In India, a sport that features in the Olympics acquires recognition for purposes like getting a job. The lack of such recognition for ultrarunning hurt the prospects of the Shillong based-ultrarunner, people familiar with the aborted attempt to get a job, said.

Notwithstanding the sport yet to feature in the Olympics, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) showed the foresight to support ultrarunning. That is how India’s membership at the IAU happened. The AFI set up a committee for ultrarunning; the committee selects the national teams. The AFI also worked with race organizers to bring IAU events to India.

According to a former national level athlete who holds a government job and is familiar with the process followed to secure jobs for sportspersons, there is first and foremost a list of recognized sports available with the government, which is partial to the Olympics for a discipline to be included. In addition to this, several departments and companies now have their own list of sports to support, which includes disciplines that don’t feature at the Olympics. In ultramarathon’s case, although it may not be an Olympic sport yet, the AFI has shown the foresight to support it, pointing to an element of recognition too in place, he said.

Question is – will this suffice to convince employers in India that the ultramarathon is as much a sport as the other disciplines endorsed by inclusion in the Olympics?

Post script: In September 2022, Aleksandr Sorokin improved his own world record in the 24-hours category to 319.614 kilometres. Same month and year, Eliud Kipchoge slashed 30 seconds off his earlier world record in the marathon. At the 2022 Berlin Marathon, he covered the distance in 2:01:09.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. This article was published in the Telegraph newspaper in August, 2022. This is the link to the published piece: https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/longer-than-the-marathon-and-still-short-of-a-job/cid/1879884)

Finishes third in his age category

Indian ultra-distance cyclist, Kabir Rachure, finished third in his age category of below 50 years at the 2022 edition of Race Across America (RAAM).

He took 11 days, 11 hours and 25 minutes (source: RAAM leader board) to cover the 3037.80 miles, the best time yet by an Indian cyclist in RAAM’s solo male segment.

When contacted, Sapna Rachure, Kabir’s sister and his crew-chief, confirmed the third place finish in the age category. “ Huge Congratulations to Kabir Rachure and all his crew team for amazing RAAM Solo Finish. Excellent 3rd position in under 50 Mens,” Spiegel Bikes said on their Facebook page.

RAAM is a single stage race with a cut-off period of 12 days. The course runs from the US west coast to the east.

This is Navi Mumbai-based Kabir’s second successful completion of RAAM. In 2019, he had completed the roughly 3000-mile span of RAAM in 11 days, 22 hours and 43 minutes to become the third Indian cyclist to complete RAAM in the solo category after Srinivas Gokulnath and Amit Samarth in 2017. Srinivas took 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, Amit – 11 days, 21 hours.

The 2022 edition of RAAM witnessed a spate of DNFs. As per the race leader board, the under-50 age category in which Kabir featured had 13 cyclists at start, of which seven (as of 8PM [IST] on June 26) could not complete (DNF) and withdrew from the race at various points en route. The list of DNF included Bharat Pannu and Vivek Shah from India; Bharat covered 2396.80 miles (9 days, 21 hours, 58 minutes) while Vivek covered 602.90 miles (2 days, 9 hours, 44 minutes). In June 2020, Bharat had placed third in virtual RAAM (VRAAM); the format was adopted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

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Wish you a very happy New Year

 

Thank you for visiting this blog

 

Please continue to do so