Comrades Marathon: Ambience is a big draw

Mumbai: In recent times, Indians have travelled to foreign shores to increasingly take part in races like Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, London and Tokyo.Satish Gujaran, who will run the Comrades Marathon for the twelfth time, is a ‘green number’ holder. This means that he has a permanent racing bib since he has run the event for 10 years. “It’s the ambience along the route that inspires people to attempt the run,” says Gujaran. “And yes, it’s also that feeling of satisfaction one experiences on finishing the race.”The lure of the Comrades Marathon is special for many participants because of the atmosphere during the run. Tents are pitched by locals who offer a slew of services —beer, or nutrition that helps runners finish the race. Even a quick massage for the fatigued limbs is part of the carnival-like aura along the route.Subash Motwani, who organises the logistics for Striders, a group of runners, for the Comrades Marathon, says it is a “proud moment for India” to be the number uno country as far as number of international entries is concerned. “Generally, we are not known as a country with great sporting culture,” reasons Motwani. “But this race shows that Indian can travel far and wide for a marathon.”The start and finish points of the Comrades change every year. This year, the direction that runners will take is from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, and it is called a ‘down’ run’ which stretches a distance of 90km. Next year, the run will be in the reverse direction—Durban to Pietermaritzburg, which is called an ‘up run’ and runners cover a distance of 87km. To qualify for the Comrades Marathon, one needs to run a standard marathon (42.2km) clocking less than 4 hours 50 minutes.