'It has been three years since the last Marathon so there is a tendency to go all out, but you got to ease back into it more gently.'
Mumbai, get your running shoes on.
The Mumbai Marathon is back after a two-year gap!
Over 55,000 runners will take to the streets of Mumbai on Sunday, January 15, for the 18th edition of the iconic Tata Mumbai Marathon, which was not held in the last two years due to COVID-19.
Race Director Hugh Jones, a former London Marathon winner, says the conditions in Mumbai are not ideal for the marathon given the spate of construction work all around the city for the metro railway and the coastal road projects.
"The road surfaces are a slight problem, it is a bit rougher than it has been in the past because of the continuous constructions," Jones tells Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani.
"The race showcases Mumbai and Mumbai at the moment with all these construction sites is going to be showcased that way," he adds.
Jones wants Mumbaikars to take it easy and not get rushed in their excitement to run the marathon after a two-year gap.
"Take it easy a little bit. I know it has been three years since the last Marathon so there is a tendency to go all out for it, but I think you got to ease back into it more gently."
Ethiopia's Derara Hurisa returns to defend his crown at the Mumbai Marathon in a competitive Elite men's field, with a dozen runners holding personal bests under the 2:08:09 course record he set in 2020.
The Mumbai Marathon will also witness over 55,000 amateurs across six categories on its much-awaited return.
Among the Indians, the Elite field will be spearheaded by Olympian Gopi T, a former champion and the first Indian to win the Asian Marathon Championship in 2017.
Also toeing the start line will be defending Indian champion Srinu Bugatha, Kalidas Hirave, the 2022 TSK 25K runner-up, and Rahul Kumar Pal, the 2019 Pune International Marathon champion.
Olympian and Arjuna awardee Sudha Singh will be running for her fifth Indian Elite women's title and will be challenged by Jigmet Dolma, runner-up in 2019 and 2017.
In the half marathon category, 2016 winner Deepak Kumbhar and defending champion Parul Chaudhary will lead the men's and women's fields respectively.
