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.)

Wish you a very happy New Year

Thank you for visiting this blog

Please continue to do so

 

Wish you a very happy New Year

 

Thank you for visiting this blog

 

Please continue to do so

 

Very rarely has the demise of a judge assumed such proportions of loss and anxiety over what next, as the recent passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court.

RBG, as she was popularly known, was a champion of women’s rights and her work in the field, sustained for decades, was instrumental in ensuring gender equality before the law, in the US. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; in 1993 President Bill Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Her demise in September 2020 has left liberal political groups nervous given both the nature of conservative politics visible since the last US presidential elections and attempts to enhance the conservative element in the country’s Supreme Court. The latter assumes importance because in the system of checks and balances that is democracy, the judiciary plays a major role – it is often the final corrective force – and its dominance by any particular social, cultural or political flavor provides scope to change the character of a country temporarily. On the other hand, judges are human too.

Uniquely, the exploration of what makes judges what they are is as much fleshed out as the life of Ruth Bader Ginsberg in RBG, the 2018 documentary film on her, currently available on Netflix. It is an excellent film about a journey in law and women’s rights, commencing in times when American law firms rarely hired a woman lawyer and the approach of law reflected society’s treatment of women, as subservient to men. This was despite the constitution promising equality. Starting with the case of a woman air force officer denied housing allowance for no reason other than her gender; RBG worked her way through several cases – including those seeking gender equality for men – to help lay the legal framework for a more just society. The documentary sheds light on her personal life; family, the professional rapport she shared with colleagues holding opposing political views and her eventual rise in old age to the status of an icon, a strong supporter of equality. We learn of not merely the cases she won but also the cases in which her opinion was minority and she registered her dissent. The words of dissent help us understand her position. Don’t miss this film. There is no better time to watch it than now when world over, the gains of liberal politics and diverse society are being undermined by conservative forces. Not to mention – it doesn’t matter if the subject is from another country; when it comes to democracy, the experience of one democratic nation is lesson for itself and others.

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