Shri Eknath Shinde, Hon'ble CM, and Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon'ble Dy CM to flag off Dream Run at Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024
Over 59,0000 participants will be cheered by celebrities Rahul Bose, Kalki Koechlin, Gulzar, Priya Dutt among others
Saturday, 20th January 2024: The 19th edition of the World Athletics Gold Label Race, the Tata Mumbai Marathon, will be flagged off tomorrow, Sunday, 21st January. This year 59,000+ participants across on-ground and virtual categories will run on the streets of Mumbai from the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). The total prize money awarded to winners will be US $ 405,000.
This edition will see the participation of 10,711 runners participating in the Marathon, 15,218 in the Half Marathon, 7130 in the Open 10K, 20,590 in the Dream Run, 1,782 in Senior Citizens Run, and 1,114 in the Champions with Disability.
In the International elite men's race, defending champion Hayle Lemi Berhanu will face a tough challenge from his country-mates, as the fastest man in the running field will be Kinde Atanaw. In the elite women’s category, the current event record holder Anchialem Haymanot will compete against Sofia Assefa, the former World and Olympic medalist and Tadelech Bekele (32), bronze medal winner in 2018 London Marathon.
The Indian elite field will be headlined by defending champion Gopi T, Srinu Bugatha, while the women’s category will witness in action Aarti Patil, Nirmaben Thakor and Jigmet Dolma.
In the half marathon category, Asian Games Silver Medallist Kartik Kumar and Bronze-medallist Gulveer Singh will be the athletes to look out for and will be challenged by TSK 25K 2023 winner Sawan Barwal.
As part of the carb-loading tradition in distance running, a fun cookout session was hosted by Procam International as an exercise for the ambassadors of the event to catch up with sponsors and brand partners. Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024 International Event Ambassador Katie Moon, and Ambassador Meb Keflezighi along with sponsors, partners and celebrity runners adorned their chef hats to showcase their culinary skills.
Promoting the fitness regime, the race day will see on tracks various personalities from the government of India, including:
- Shri Eknath Shinde (Hon'ble CM)
- Shri Devendra Fadnavis (Hon'ble Dy CM)
- Rahul Narvekar (Hon'ble Speaker)
- Shri Chhagan Bhujbal (Hon'ble Minister)
- Shri Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Hon'ble Revenue Minister)
- Shri Girish Mahajan (Hon'ble Tourism Minister)
- Shri Sanjay Bansode (Hon'ble Minister)
- Smt. Amruta Fadnavis
- Shri I S Chahal (MCGM Commissioner)
- Shri Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Hon'ble Revenue Minister)
- Shri Girish Mahajan (Hon'ble Tourism Minister)
- Adv. Ashish Shelar (MLA)
- Shri Vivek Phansalkar (Police Commissioner)
- Shri Sanjay Kumar (PCC, IT)
- Adv. Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP President
- Dr. Nitin Kareer (CS, GOM)
- Ashok Kumar Misra (GM, WR)
- Nupur Mallick,
- Suprakash Mukhopadhyay (Tata Sons)
- Shreepad Shende (IDFC First Bank) + T V Naarayan (IDFC First Bank),
- Shri Rajiv Jalota (Chairman MPT),
- Shri Deven Bharati (Spl Commissioner, Police),
- Shri Pravin Padwal (Spl Commissioner, Police)
- Shri Sanjay Kumar (PCC, IT)
Kalki Koechlin, Rahul Bose, Nikita Dutta, Tara Sharma, Milind Soman, and Sagarika Ghosh are some of the Bollywood celebrities who will light up the event.
| Race Category | Distance in kms | Start Time & Location | Finish Time & Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon Amateurs | 42.195 km | 5:00 am from CSMT | 12:30 pm at OCS Chowki |
| Half Marathon & Police Cup | 21.097 km | 5:00 am from Mahim Reti Bandar Ground, Mahim Causeway | 09:10 am at OCS Chowki |
| Open 10K Run | 10 km | 6:00 am from CSMT | 7:58 am at OCS Chowki |
| Marathon Elite Race | 42.195 km | 7:20 am from CSMT | 10:50 am at CSMT |
| Champions with Disability | 1.3 km | 7:22 am from CSMT | 8:05 am at OCS Chowki |
| Senior Citizens’ Run | 4.2 km | 7:35 am from CSMT | 9:05 am at Metro Theatre, MG Road |
| DREAM RUN | 5.9 km | 8:00 am from CSMT | 10:40 am at Metro Theatre, MG Road |
Race Day proceedings will be live on Sony Sports 1, Sony Sports 1 HD, Sony Liv from 6:30 am onwards.
Gopi T eyes event record at Tata Mumbai Marathon
Gopi is looking to get into the groove in his favourite race for two more marathons to come before Paris 2024. “I will aim for the course record at Tata Mumbai Marathon, my preparations have been good in the Sports Authority of India complex in Bengaluru. The temperatures were high there, Mumbai is hotter than last year so I don't know what to expect.” He is running here after a 2:14:58 at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon last year, hoping to find form in Mumbai.
The direct qualification time in the men's marathon for Paris 2024 is 2:08. Gopi’s personal best of 2:13:39 was at the Seoul Marathon 2022, forcing the Army runner to aim for qualification via the average route. “Runners who don’t qualify automatically have the option to average the best five race timings. I feel 2:12 will be needed at Mumbai or in two races ahead for making the grade, one in India and one abroad.”
Srinu Bugatha (PB 2:14:59 New Delhi Marathon 2021) and Kalidas Hirve are others running among the Indian men in the fray.
The Indian elite winners stand a chance to win Rs 500,000 each for the champion in the men's and women’s categories, down to the seventh position.
Jigme Dolma, Aarti Patil, and Nirmaben Thakor are prominent names in the women’s marathon.
Leh runner Jigmat trains in high altitude at home and will bank on endurance to perform.
Nima said, “Women don’t believe in themselves. The thought that they can't do it is stuck in their minds. Once people start believing in themselves anything is achievable."
Second runner-up at TMM 2023, Kalidas dwelt on the ethics aspect, in a message to amateur distance runners aiming for places and prize money. Kalidas added: “I get queries from young runners on social media about quick-fix solutions to winning races. My advice is to avoid short-cut methods and pay attention to continuous training, rest and recovery. Amateur runners should listen to their coach instead of getting swayed by shortcuts. There is no shortcut in long-distance running.”