Age is just a number for Fatima, Goa’s 52-year-old marathoner

Panaji: Fatima Desa had no idea of her second-place finish when she clocked four hours, 10.24 minutes to complete a 42-km run in the under-54 women’s category at the Mumbai Marathon early this year.

“For me, it was about clocking better timings than last year,” said the 52-year-old mother of two. “Later, someone told me that I finished second in my age category. It is a nice feeling.”

This was the Miramar resident’s third Mumbai Marathon participation. An avid runner for 10 years, Fatima knew how to pace herself.

Running is a joy for Fatima and staying active is a choice.

“I started running to lose weight (I was 75kg, now I am 57kg). The most important thing is to maintain discipline. It is not easy to wake up at 5am, but it is worth the sacrifice,” said Fatima.

The habit of jogging soon culminated into a passion for running.

"We are a family of runners. My husband (Agnelo Desa) is our coach. My brother Hipolito Azavedo is my training partner. My son Warren also joins us for training along with running partners Clarissa, Daegal, Pramod. This is what gets me out of bed every day," she said.

Participation in a marathon takes a lot of effort but Fatima does not neglect her work on the professional front. Flexible work timings help.

When asked till what age she would run as time is athletes’ biggest enemy, Fatima said, “Age is just a number. People run till they are in late 70s. It is all about training and staying motivated."

Fatima can look back at her career with pride. She completed three Ironman 70.3, finishing second in under-50 in 2022, third in the next year and fifth in 2024.

“The Goa River Marathon, Ironman 70.3 Goa as well as Mumbai Marathon participation are a must for me. I want to run till I die,” said Fatima.

Fatima prepares herself a few months before participating in the marathon.

“Because I train regularly, I ran for two hours, three days a week for around 20km in training and set the target. However, on the day of the event, it is a different story altogether,” said Fatima.

At the marathon, Fatima found many runners starting fast and then losing steam around the 10km-mark.

“It was tough to see others stopping and walking and you start thinking that you have another 30km to run. It is demoralising. However, that is when your training helps. It is a challenge to complete 42-km, but determination plays a key role,” said Fatima.