Three runners from Bengaluru – Ramesh Rao, Bindu Juneja and Gagan Sethi completed the Comrades Marathon, one of the world’s oldest ultramarathons (since 1921) which takes place in South Africa and covers a distance of approximately 89 km, on June 11. A total of 403 participants from India, including 42 women, took part in the marathon this time.
The run began at Pietermaritzburg and ended at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban. While there were 84 participant countries, India had the largest international running contingent this year. Last year, only 150 members from the country participated.
“It was quite a challenge as we had to run around five mountains and elevation of 1,100 metres. It was also a timed run meaning that we had to finish the run within 12 hours. We also had five interim cut offs. The temperature is another factor. While it was 6 degrees in the morning when we started, by afternoon it was around 23 degrees and by the time we ended the run, it was 16 degrees there,” said Ramesh Rao, who completed the marathon in 10 hours 46 minutes.
Like many other runners, completing the Comrades Marathon was a dream for these runners from the city too. “Completion of this was on the bucket list for me. It was my first time running with Indian flag on my chest. It gives you a very different kind of motivation to run and make our country proud,” stated Gagan Sethi, who took 10 hours 54 minutes to finish the run.
All three runners underwent around six months of various kinds of training before going to Comrades Marathon. They have been running half, full and ultra marathons for approximately eight years now. “It is not just about running. It is about strengthening your muscles too and preparing your whole body for the run,” Mr. Sethi remarked.
One of the 42 women runners who took part in the marathon this year was Bindu Juneja. Despite holding a full-time job as a teacher, she said that she could efficiently also train for the run. “Usually, we only see two or three women in ultra marathons and seeing over 40 runners only meant something this time. As women, we limit ourselves to half marathons or 40-km runs. But we have the ability to multi task and we should indulge ourselves in these activities and make our country proud,” she said. Ms Juneja took just 9 hours 57 minutes to finish the marathon.
