INVC NEWS
Kenya’s Lagat won 12 months ago in decisive fashion when he broke away from the rest of the leading pack around 29 kilometers into the race. He was out on his own over the final 13 kilometers, almost a third of the race, before crossing the line in 2:09:15, the second-fastest winning time in the history of the Tata Mumbai Marathon.
Having come home just 40 seconds outside the course record of 2:08:35, set by his compatriot Gideon Kipketer in 2016, Lagat will be back on the start line in the City of Dreams motivated not only by the possibility of pocketing another USD$45,000 first prize cheque but also the USD$15,000 on offer for a course record.
“My Mumbai Marathon win was my best race of 2019 so I have fond memories of running in India, and the experience I got running this race last year will be very important this time. Coming so close to the course record, I have thought about what I can do to improve, and I think I can run the first half of the race faster than I did last year,” reflected Lagat.
Lagat will be aiming to become just the second man to win back-to-back Tata Mumbai Marathon titles in the race’s 17-year history, following in the footsteps of fellow Kenyan John Kelai who won in 2007 and 2008.
Race promoters Procam International have signed up no less than 14 men who have run faster than 2:10:00, making it the strongest marathon ever to be staged in India.
Of those men, nine have run faster than the course record during their careers and six have run under the super-elite benchmark of 2:07:00.
The four fastest men in the field are all Ethiopians, led by Ayele Abshero who has a personal best of 2:04:23 and although that time came almost eight years ago, when he won the Dubai Marathon, he showed that he is still a very competitive runner at the highest level by taking second place in the Hamburg Marathon in 2:08:26 last April.
Like Lagat, Ethiopia’s Alemu upset the pre-race form book in 2019 and won in Mumbai in a personal best of 2:25:25, which was also the second-fastest winning time in Tata Mumbai Marathon history.
She improved her best to 2:24:42 later in 2019 when finishing sixth at the Amsterdam Marathon in October.
Alemu heads a very strong women’s field that has eight women who have run under 2:28:00.
The fastest woman in the field is another Ethiopian, Amane Beriso, who had a stunning marathon debut when she ran 2:20:48 for second place in the 2016 Dubai Marathon, which placed her third on that year’s world list.
Beriso took a break from competitive running last year so it will be interesting to see what sort of form she will bring to her first race in 15 months.
All the leading women will have as their target the course record of 2:24:33 set by Kenya’s Valentine Kipketer in 2013.
“This is the 17th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon and we have been setting new standards for marathons, ever since the very first event in 2004. However, this year I think we have put together the strongest marathon field ever seen in India and that makes us all very proud,” said Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director of Procam International.
“As well as being thrilled at seeing some of the world’s best distance runners in action, I am also very proud of the contribution that the Tata Mumbai Marathon and Procam International make to the wider community.
“Last year we raised over 40 crores for good causes and we will continue to give back, empowering individuals to make the changes they want to see in society and cementing the Tata Mumbai Marathon’s place as the biggest sporting platform for philanthropy in India.”
Approximately 50,000 runners will take to the roads in Mumbai for six different races in what has become a traditional annual event in the city on the third Sunday of January.
In addition to the marathon – which has a total prize fund of USD$405,000 – there is a half marathon, a 10km race, a Dream Run (5.9km), Senior Citizens Race (4.2km) and a Champions with Disability Race (1.5km).
