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Mumbai Marathon: Celebration for amateurs, concern for pros

As Mumbai Marathon enters its 14th edition, it has become more renowned for the fanfare, rather than the actual elite class running.

Since 2004, the third Sunday of the year has been reserved for the Mumbai Marathon. A sporting event — rather a festival — where elite runners share the length of the 42.195-km course with amateurs. Music and celebrities galore feature at the starting and finishing line, both at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. And now as the event enters its 14th edition, it has become more renowned for the fanfare, rather than the actual elite class running.

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It’s an aspect further supported by the depleted lineup of both Indian and foreign athletes that will start the run on Sunday.

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On the Indian front, none of the race winners from last year are competing. While Nitendra Singh Rawat, who set the Indian men’s course record, is recovering from a hamstring injury, Sudha Singh had been diagnosed with swine flu immediately after her return from the Rio Olympics, and is still in rehabilitation.

Also missing from the men’s category is T Gopi, who set in Rio the second best timing by an Indian athlete (2:15:25). Among the women, national record holder O P Jaisha and three-time winner Lalita Babar too will be absent.

Festive offer

Expectations, hence, fall on Kheta Ram, who finished third among the Indian men last year in his maiden marathon, and notched up a commendable 26th spot finish in Rio, and 2011 winner Jyoti Gawte. Ram however, isn’t too confident of living up to the billing since he began practising in November. “I’m still a bit rusty,” says Ram, who has already qualified for the World Championships, which will be held in London later this year. “The aim is always to better my personal best, (2:15:26), but I’ll have to see how the body feels on the day.”

Meanwhile, Gawte’s best timing is a none-too-impressive 2:50:37.

Along with the runners, the course itself has drawn criticism. Routes at renowned marathons like Berlin, Boston and even London are flat with comfortable weather conditions. Mumbai, in turn, is a mixture of heat, strong winds along the sea-link, and the climb of the Malabar hills area — twice. Far from ideal.

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Security arrangements too have come under the scanner. In 2014, Kenyan athlete Evans Rutto was slowed down by amateur runners and missed out on breaking the course record by a mere second. A year later, a stray dog allegedly ran a distance of 10 km along with the athletes.

This year, the concern is the narrowed roads due to the Metro construction. “The road has narrowed down at the 23-km mark near the Hinduja Hostpital. We’ve created some more space along the pavement so there should be enough space for the runners to go through,” asserts Hugh Jones, the race director.

A few years ago, the race also lost its Silver-Class Label. The event had actually enjoyed the coveted Gold Label as well, for the 2010 edition.

Still, the Mumbai Marathon is still the most prestigeous marathon in the country. “This is the best race here, both in terms of prize money (USD 384,000) and the crowd support,” says national coach Surender Singh Bhandari.

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It has also helped build a culture of running. This year, 42,000 runners have confirmed their participation, including two elite runners from Leh. The event has served as a platform for amateur runners from all over the country to jog the lengthy 42 km length — or the 21 km half-marathon.

However, even as the festivities and amateur participation continue to grow, the quality of elite runners has been going steadily downhill.

First uploaded on: 15-01-2017 at 01:44 IST
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