New Delhi Marathon: Three Army distance runners break 2:15 barrier and achieve qualification standard for Asian Games

Three male distance runners from the Indian Army achieved men’s marathon qualification time of 2 hours and 15 minutes for the postponed Asian Games at the Delhi Marathon. The 2022 Asian Games are scheduled to be held in the second half of 2023 in China.

Even more heartening was that all three podium finishers in the men’s group recorded a personal best over the marathon distance of 42km and 195m. The day’s honor went to Man Singh, who sprinted home to cross the finish line in 2:14:13.

While AB Belliappa was a close second at 2:14:15, Karthik Kumar, on his marathon debut, finished third in 2:14:19.

The Delhi race was the second marathon for Singh within a short span of five weeks. He finished second in the Indian category at the Mumbai Marathon held earlier in January.

KC Ramu, the Army’s distance running coach, attributes a good performance at the Delhi Marathon to group training in the high altitude of Ooty, Tamil Nadu.

“We have a group of more than 10 runners in a distance running camp in Ooty,” the Army distance coach explained. “Group running for an event like a marathon is more productive than individual training.”

Both Singh and Belliappa practice with a group of athletes in Ooty. Kumar is based out of Bengaluru and is attending the national camp.

In the absence of more experienced marathon runners like Olympian Nitendra Singh Rawat and Thonakal Gopi, the onus was on others to establish themselves. While Rawat skipped the Delhi Marathon due to a hamstring injury, Gopi is preparing for the Seoul Marathon in March.

“The Delhi Marathon turned out to be a good platform for athletes,” Ramu added. “Performance of top three male runners will certainly give fillip to marathon running in India.”

According to the Army’s distance coach, the main focus of the top athletes will be the 2023 Asian Games in September.

“After a short break, those who have achieved the qualification standard for the Asian Games will start preparing for the continental competition."

Performance of Indian women distance runners at Delhi Marathon

If the male marathon runners were impressive, the performance in the women’s division wasn’t encouraging.

Jyoti Shankar Gawate, the winner of the women’s marathon race, clocked 2:53:04, which was far slower than the Asian Games qualification time of 2:37. Ashivni Madan Jadhav was second with 2:53:06, and Jigmet Dolma was third in 2:56:41.