Nip in air trumps air quality concerns at Mum Marathon

Mumbai: As I slept last night, the only thing playing on my mind was a simple wish: let the trend of lower temperatures hold up.

Despite concerns around worsening air quality, the declining temperatures had already tempered anxieties about participating in the annual Mumbai Marathon, which returned after a threeyear break due to COVID-19. I was doing a half marathon this time, and had successfully tricked two colleagues Dnyanesh Chavan and Kapil Kelkar into signing up for the same event.

The nip in the air continued, as we headed out to the start line in the specially arranged buses at 4 am. It was a much, much larger gathering than we had imagined.

Poor practising does not allow for luxuries like race strategies, and the only sliver you chase is a finish.
We three decided to run our own races, and soon dissolved into the crowd of runners.
Murli Gavit from India won the half marathon with a timing of 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Once I crossed the finish line (in 2.24 hours and 24 minutes and with what I consider minimal damage to the legs), I met up with Dnyanesh and Kapil. They had also finished the race strong—Kapil in 2 hours and 35 minutes, and Dnyanesh in 2 hours and 40 minutes. —PTI