The morning flight that
took off from the Dabolim airport the day
before the Mumbai marathon, had an athletic feel to it. Full of marathon
runners form Goa, some were amateurs, some professionals while some were
running for a cause.
With most of them, over
fifty in number, finishing and some making good time, Goa surely left
its footprint at what is known as the ‘kumbh mela’ of marathons in India, the
Tata Mumbai Marathon’s (TMM) 17 th
edition.
The largest and most scenic in India, the marathon runners had a
chance to run over the Sea Link and meet runners from different parts of the
world, enjoying their company and celebrating their fitness in a very festive
atmosphere. The number of Goan runners has also increased at the Marathon and
it is always good to see a familiar faces among the 55,000 runners.
Sardar Nadaf from Siolim regularly works out to keep himself fit.
This was the first time he participated in the TMM and it was his best timing
ever, making him the fastest Goan full marathon runner. “In 2018, I
participated in the Bangalore Marathon with the timing of 3 hours and 45
minutes. In 2019, I participated in the Goa River Marathon and my timing was 3
hours 43 minutes. For the TMM, my timing was 3 hours and 18 minutes. I work out
every day, either doing strengthening at the gym, cycling twice a week or
swimming at least twice a week. There is no fixed schedule but these three
forms of exercise are covered within a week,” says Nadaf, who is part of the
Bardez Runners as well as Mapusa Runners group, which had nearly 10 runners
participating in TMM.
Goa’s Dr Hari Paramashwar, currently based in Delhi, is an
international and national marathoner. He has completed four marathons in two
months and found the TMM quite challenging compared to the rest. “I ran four
full marathons at the Goa River Marathon, Delhi and Chennai but Mumbai was the
toughest among all. I have been living in Delhi for the last few months and had
to adjust to the shift from the cold weather to hot and humid climate of
Mumbai. The marathon should have started off at 4am, which would have given us
more time without the Sun. Instead, it kicked off at 5:30am, which was the
reason many people collapsed and didn’t complete the marathon. It was
relatively easy for Goan runners as they train in the same weather,” says Dr
Paramashwar.
Nilesh Gawade from Ponda felt really motivated participating in
the marathon, this time for a half marathon, and he promises to go back the
next year for the full marathon. “This was the best experience at a Marathon in
India. It was a very cool climate and we reached the finish line before
sunrise. I finished the half marathon in two hours and 17 minutes. I will be
participating in Kolhapur in February for the full marathon and surely in the
next TMM,” says Gawade, who runs along with his friends at GEC in Ponda every
morning.
A regular marathon runner, Padmanath Gadekar from Mapusa was
impressed with the grandeur of the marathon, where he participated in the full
marathon. Part of Fit Swagger Goa, he goes for daily runs and monthly
challenges. “The whole experience was great as everything was on track,
considering it was on a big scale. Right from the start line to the finish, everything
was well organised. Prior to the marathon, we used to run for almost a month
every Friday for 15-20 kilometres. We did a warm up run before the marathon,”
says Gadekar, who ran along with 13 participants of Fit Swagger Goa.
Dr Blanche Themudo from Navelim participated in the half marathon
of 21 kilometres. She’s a regular marathoner who has participated in 8-9
marathons in Goa but this was her first experience in Mumbai. “Considering the
marathon had nearly 56,000 participants, it was pretty crowded but the
participants were filtered while applying for the marathon itself. I am a part
of a runners group in Margao and we go for short runs, gradually increasing the
distance for strength training, which is vital for marathon runners. We were
nearly 25 members from Margao who participated in the TMM,” says Dr
Themudo.
Porvorim based Sunil Jadeja is part of the Goa Road Runners group
and had a great experience travelling and running with his friends at the
marathon. “It was a great event and it is called the best in India. This is my
second attempt at TMM for the half marathon. It was joyful to see Goan runners
among more than 55,000 runners from different parts of the world. The people of
Mumbai were great as they were cheering for us on the road. Being one of the
busiest cities of the world, the roads in Mumbai were closed for the marathon.
It was well organised, with medical aid and hydration points almost every
kilometre after the 20 kilometres of the run,” says Jadeja.
Finton Dourado from Margao ran the half marathon and shares his experience at the marathon. “It was a different marathon compared to the others as it was of an international level. It is the largest marathon in Asia; the climate condition was very favourable and the overall experience was great. I got to meet a lot of people from other states and countries. The spirit of unity was visible as people were offering water and chocolates on their own. There was good music and the entire marathon had a festive atmosphere,” says Dourado.