1-yr-old twins leap for joy seeing dad at 42km finish

Mumbai: As Kishor Kunal hit the 42km finish line, his twin babies waiting with their mother gurgled on seeing him. "They were born last year, the day after I ran the full Tata Mumbai Marathon," beamed the software engineer.
His entire family — the twins, wife, parents, in-laws — were there, waiting for him at the finish. His wife, Nishu, a dietician, tends to his nutrition needs as a runner.
Last year, after he finished running 42km, he rushed home to be with his wife who was due for delivery. "I was not keen on participating just to be with her, but she had insisted I participate..." he recalled. On Wednesday (Jan 22), the family will have a twin celebration at home — the babies' first birthday and Kunal's marathon finish.
The Kunal family was among those waiting for their runner participants at the finish line at CSMT. Many a relative waited anxiously at the full marathon finish line where a few exhausted runners lay sprawled, recovering after their gruelling run.
Devi Das, a psychologist nearing 60 years of age, travelled from Thiruvananthapuram with her husband. Their son flew down from France, and her brother from the US for the marathon. All four finished the 42 km!
Shantilal Gosar (71) from Chembur, a grandfather of five who got a stent after cardiac complications a few years ago, completed the full marathon for the third time with a personal best time of 5 hours 52 minutes. While his daughter was waiting for him at the finish line, his son, Kalpesh (41), accompanied the father for the last 5km to cheer him up and keep his spirits high.
"I run and walk for an average of 15 km every day," said Shantilal. "But I do not run if I am not prepared."