Too hot to handle

Unlike every morning in Mumbai, Sunday had a puff of air in it. The temperature did not go above 25 degrees, which was quite amusing for locals. However, the athletes taking part in the Mumbai Marathon struggled with the weather as they faced a tough time balancing the conditions and their respective records.

The race was flagged off under the streetlights around the Chhatrapati Shivaji Termius, with the sun leisurely rising above the clouds. Athletes of the elite category were flagged off at 7 am, and they did not look disturbed by the weather till then. It was only after the sun came out, warming up the spirits, did the trouble begin.

The marathon opens the gates of the Bandra-Worli sealink to pedestrians, which was quite a playful scene. Nevertheless, the foreign athletes were perhaps not aware of this fact as they were left cross by the runners, who were hindering their pursuit.  

Amane Gobana of Ethiopia

Agitated female runners
The fervour among the local reached different heights and they were in immense joy not realising that they were hampering the women’s race at the same time. Amane Gobena from Ehtiopia finished with a timing of 2 hours 25 minutes and 49 seconds. Before addressing the press, the 35-year-old was lying down on her back over three chairs enduring the cramps due to the heat.

The elite runners are just a part of the Mumbai Marathon with numerous other categories of the race going hand-in-hand. Gobena was not in the mood of entertaining the non-competitive runners after missing three water breaks at 5, 15 and 30 kms. “It was a quite difficult race and there were a lot of people on the road. It was difficult to get water,” she said after the race also hinting that she might not return for the next edition of the marathon. “I don’t know...I’m not sure (about coming back next year).”

Sitting right next to her was the former champion Bornes Kitur who finished as the runner-up on Sunday. The Kenyan faced a shade of what every Mumbai local goes through every day. The construction issues of the metro posed a challenge for the 2017 winner as the there was lesser space to run. “Construction was a problem as there were a lot of corners,” said Kitur.

The Indian party
For the Indians, Sudha Singh finished on top with a timing of 2:48:32 almost limping in the middle. She remained at the first place in the Indian elite category since the beginning but she started feeling the cramps after the sun came up. “At one point, I thought that I should start walking. I got cramps twice or thrice,” said the winner.

For Indian men, Thonakal Gopi just edged over his rival Nitendra Singh Rawat by three seconds to finish at 2:16:54. Gopi and Rawat train together in Dharamshala and the change in temperature became a major hurdle for the pair. “From 2-3 degrees there, it was a big change,” said Rawat and “Ditto,” exclaimed Gopi who was sitting beside him.

The overall Indian men winners of the marathon

Ethiopian domination
Solomon Deksisa who was the favourite to win the men’s race lived up to the expectations with timing of 2 hours 9 minutes and 34 seconds in the 42 kilometre race. The Ethiopian started the marathon with fierce intensity going neck-to-neck with his compatriot Shumet Akalnaw who eventually finished second.

The Ethiopian duo was only seconds away from each other till the 29th kilometre until the 22-year-old Deksisa changed gears to snatch a comfortable lead. Their Kenyan counterpart Joshua Kipkorir who managed to stay in the competition till the 39th km, felt a sudden pain in the stomach that pulled him back to the third spot. “At 39K, I felt pain in my stomach and then I went on with my own pace,” said Joshua referring to the heat.

Solomon Deksisa at the finish line

Leading results

Overall Marathon Elite Men : Solomon Deksisa (ETH) 02:09:33;Shumet Akalnaw(ETH) 02:10:00; Joshua Kipkorir (KEN) 02:10:29; ShumiDechasa (BAHRAIN) 02:12:23; AychewBantie (ETH) 02:12:48; HusenMuhammedamin (ETH) 02:13:15; Vincent Kipchumba (KEN)02:15:14; Abraham Girma (ETH) 02:15:27; Samuel Mwaniki (KEN)02:15:58; EliudBarngetuny (KEN) 02:16:49; GopiThonakal (IND) 02:16:50; Nitendra Singh Rawat (IND) 02:16:54; Philip Kangogo(KEN) 02:17:10; SrinuBugatha (IND) 02:23:55; Bahadur Singh Dhoni (IND) 02:25:00

Overall Marathon Elite Women: Amane Gobana (ETH) 02:25:49; BornesKitur (KEN) 02:28:48; ShukoGenemo (ETH) 02:29:41; Birke Debele (ETH) 02:29:45; Kuftu Tahir (ETH) 02:35:01; Rose Maru (KEN) 02:38:52; Sudha Singh (IND) 02:48:32; JyotiGawate (IND) 02:50:47; Parul Chaudhary (IND) 02:53:26; Manju Yadav (IND) 03:02:05

Marathon Indian Men: GopiThonakal 02:16:51; Nitendra Singh Rawat 02:16:54;SrinuBugatha  02:23:56; Bahadur Singh Dhoni 02:25:00 ; GB Patle 02:29:59; TH SanjitLuwang 02:34:44;

Marathon Indian Women: Sudha Singh 02:48:32; JyotiGawate  02:50:47; Parul Chaudhary  02:53:26

Indian Half Marathon Men: Pradeep Singh 01:05:42; Shankar ManThapa 01:06:40; Deepak Khumbar  01:06:54; ChandrakanMaruti  01:09:39; SachinPatil  01:10:17
Indian Half Marathon Women: SanjeevaniJadhav 01:06:24; Monika Athare  01:27:15; JumaKhatun 01:27:48; Kiran  01:27:49; JanabaiHirave  01:28:40