Tag: Mumbai

After all the media attention focussed around Milind Soman and his first attempt at the 42K at Mumbai, it was quite natural to be inquisitive about what really happened, how did his run go, and whether he was able to achieve his target time (if there was any). So, after a bit of googling, I was able to really find out the details.

Milind is a great fitness enthusiast, and a regular runner. Doing a 10K almost daily is no big deal for him. He has an amazing PR of 1:39 at the Mumbai Half marathon. My guess before the run for Milind was a finishing time of sub 4-hours, which looked reasonable given his 21K time. However, Milind was able to do the 42K in 4:47, which definitely looks some way off from the expectations. So what really happened? The TOI article titled “Milind Soman fights cramps” says it all:

… Due to the heat and dehydration, a mild cramp started in the left calf muscle at Mahim, and a stronger bout assailed him at Worli. He was cramping in both legs at Girgaum Chowpatty, a good 5 km from the finish, and unable to stay upright, he fell on the barrier. Two women runners rushed to help, applying analgesic cream to his legs. They urged him not to give up. Soman says it was due to them he went on. “I was on course for my 3:45 target but ended on 4:53,” he says

Well, actually Milind did a 4:47, so I wonder why it is written as 4:53 above. So, not bad for his first attempt, and I am sure with this experience, he will improve if he does attempt this again. Surely, Milind is the biggest and most probably the most popular celebrity in India who can claim to run a marathon, and that alone speaks a lot about him.

His intermediate time stats from the run:

• 14km:    1:15:49 (5.35 mins/km pace)
• 23.2km: 2:09:43 (5.56 mins/km pace)
• 32.5km: 3:12:08 (5.90 mins/km pace)
• 42.2km: 4:47:44 (6.80 mins/km pace)

So, his last 10 kilometers were done at a pace of 9.79 min/km pace, and that tells the story of what really happened.

The snaps have come up on marathon photos website.

The certificate which you can print out from the website also has the “net” finish time (instead of the “gross” one reported on the Championchip UAE website). Mine was within one second of what I got from my stopwatch i.e. 5:21:56
[Photo: top]

For those interested, Milind Soman did the 42K in 4:47:44, see him here. It would be interesting to know how his experience of the marathon was, maybe something will turn up on television. I was expecting him to get below 4 hours, but I guess his time is great for his first marathon.
[Photo: second from top]

Gul Panag did the 21K in 2:32:38, see her here.
[Photo: third from top]

Anil Ambani‘s time is not being shown (privacy?) but you can see his photos here.
[Photo: fourth from top]

BTW: The Championchip UAE website is no longer displaying the results, probably fixing something.

Time: 5:21 (my best at Mumbai, and fastest officially clocked time!)

I arrived in Mumbai on Sat morning with a colleague of mine, so this was officially the first time I went out of town with someone to run, mostly I am a lone ranger. I was referred to an excellent place to stay by my running friend, Aditya, called Hotel Manama. It is right besides CST on the D. Mello road and a few minutes walk from the starting line at Azad Maidaan. Got my foot size and pronation measured at the Nike and Asics booths. Did a lot of wandering around that day, went to the expo to get the BIB, then to the Gateway for a look, and finally to the Marine drive to catch some sea breeze.

Sunday morning got up by 5:00 am and left the hotel at 5:45 to proceed to the starting point. Met a lot of people from Delhi Runners and Running and Living group there. The 42K runners were given an option to start early at 6:45 with the 21K runners, and needless to say, almost all the non-competitive runners went for that keeping in mind the Mumbai heat. By the time I crossed the starting line, it was already 7:00!

The first 21K for a marathon is just that, the first 21K in which nothing of note happens, you just keep on going, time goes by, and so does the distance. You can probably even close your eyes and think about other things. I was running at an exact pace of 7 min/KM and the 21K took me exactly 2:27, which seemed to suggest a finish of around 5:15 or so. I was running at a 8.5:1.5 strategy, i.e. run 8.5 mins and walk 1.5 mins.

The next 21K was obviously a different story, which can probably be divided into three parts of 7K each. The first one was a very comfortable 7K where I continued with my 8.5:1.5, crossing the Bandra reclamation area U-turn at 26K. The next 7K was a bit tough, and I switched to a 8:2 and then a 4:1 for some time. I am thankful to the people who were giving out bananas, biscuits, water in front of their homes and cheering us on. This “spirit” of Mumbai is difficult to find in any other city of India. I even bought some biscuits and a chilled milk bottle on my way! The last 7K for me was when you feel the true fun of running of the marathon, and without which any marathon is incomplete … the pain. It was just one step in front of another, sometimes walking, sometimes running, and sometimes in between. The Peddar road flyover on the way back resembled a mountain more than a road. Met Aditya at the return Marine Drive section and then we went together all the way to the finish.

The finishing line came at 5:21:57 as per my stopwatch. The medals this time resembled the ones we got at ADHM 2008. After that it was just a rush to get back to the hotel and we were on the train for our return journey.

Statistics:
Start Time (Official/Gun Time):       06:43:17
Start Time (Personal):     06:59:13
Finish Time (Net):     05:21:56
14 Km:     01:55:06 (net 01:39) (pace 7.07/km)
23.2 Km:     02:59:56 (net 2:44) (pace 7.07/km)
32.5 Km:     04:11:16 (net 3:55) (pace 7.23/km)
42.2 Km:     05:37 (net 5:21) (pace 7.63/km)
Last 10Km done at about 9/km!

Next is What … Running and Living Marathon, Gurgaon (Feb 22nd).

Celebrities get their own share of publicity when it comes to events like marathons, and its no wonder that there are always loads of them at any such event in India, ranging from film stars, businessmen, politicians of all color, and sports personalities.

But what I am really interested in are those who are doing the real stuff at these marathons, which means the 21K and the 42K, because that’s where you know who spent the months on training for this and who were the ones who came for their morning walks and media (and not to forget, cause/charity). Here they are:

1. Milind Soman (Going for the 42K after running 21Ks over the last few years, 1:39 PR in 21K)
2. Anil Ambani (regular 21K runner at Mumbai, #9999 permanently assigned to him)
3. Gul Panag (she’s been running the 21K since inception)

Please provide your comments if you know of any other big-shots who are doing the 21K or 42K.

Post race update:

• Milind Soman : 4:47:45 (gross time)
• Anil Ambani : ***no results*** though there is a ‘Ami Ambani’ with 2:06:45 (-do-)
• Gul Panag : 2:32:46 (-do-)