Thirty-three runners from the city will be representing India in the annual Comrades Marathon, the oldest ultra marathon, in South Africa this year.
The runners, who have trained with Striders Miles Private Limited fitness training group, were introduced at the Mumbai Press Club on Monday afternoon. Striders’ members said of the 22,000 worldwide entries this year, 168 are from India. The race, which is a gruelling 87 km as opposed to the traditional 21 km or 42 km, will be held on June 9 from the City Hall in Durban to the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.
Striders, which was conceptualised in 2006, engages in training fitness enthusiasts for marathons and maintaining their general well being. Having trained over 10,000 people for marathons, Striders has 60 trainers spread over 19 cities in the country.
Prashant Modi, a five-time Comrades runner, said the runners have a fixed schedule which incorporates physical fitness routines into everyday lives, and the rigorous training programme often ends up cutting into their time with their families. He said, “We sometimes wake up as early as 2 a.m. to start practising, which we do for three to four hours before going back to our day jobs. We return in the evening and resume the practice.”
Dr. Ganesh Dal, another runner, said drinking juices and shakes and relaxing between running schedules helps a lot. “Stretching, relaxing and icing are an integral way to avoid injuries,” Dr. Dal said.
There are three women runners among the 33. Sandra Jaquet, a second-time Comrades runner said, “It is a delirious feeling when you finish the race with your teammates holding the Indian flag in a foreign country. Everybody trains together and finishes the race as a team.”
The Comrades Marathon is one of the toughest marathons in the world with a very strict 12-hour cut-off time. Those who don’t make it back in time do not even get a participation medal.
Keran Patel, a foodie, learnt about Striders and decided to take up running to strike a balance between his love for food and his health. Mr. Patel will be running his first Comrade Marathon this year. He said, “Time management is the biggest skill we need to develop to strike a healthy balance between our work and personal life. Running marathons helps cut out all the unnecessary aspects of our social life like partying till late in the night.”