Mumbai: With a few fist bumps and a roar to celebrate, Kartik Karkera became the Indian men’s winner of the Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday, in his first official 42.195km race no less.
Winning on debut is not a big surprise. In a field of elite international and Indian runners, Karkera – an orthopaedic surgeon – is essentially an amateur runner. But with the unexpected win, he now has the same target as the professionals – qualifying for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
“I’m really happy I got onto the podium, especially coming first,” he said after the race. “I was born and brought up in Mumbai, I knew I could not let this go. Now the main target is to be ready for the (national marathon championship) in New Delhi next month for the Asian Games qualification.”
Clocking 2:19:55, Karkera finished 10th overall. He beat last year’s Indian men’s winner Anish Thapa, who came in second at 2:20:08.
These timings are far off from the 2:15:04 Asian Games qualification standard set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). But racing in Mumbai – its many challenging inclines make it difficult to clock fast timings – was about getting a boost of confidence.
So much so that it has given the 28-year-old another reason to think about making the shift to being a professional runner.
“I’m trying to make a 100% shift, but it’s difficult for me because then I don’t know what to do in my free time,” he said. “I feel good that I have (my practice). I stay busy, and I’m not stressed with training.”
At the moment, he has not allowed either of his two roles – as a runner and doctor – to overwhelm each other. But the Mumbai native did shift to Nasik in April 2024 to find a better balance.
He is a doctor at the Dr Vasantrao Pawar Medical Hospital there, while training under renowned distance running coach Vijender Singh. His first full marathon, albeit an unofficial one, was in fact organised by his hospital.
“I made a deal with the dean that if I do well in the race, I would get a one-month break to prepare for the 2025 National Games. I won that race and it gave me more motivation to continue pursuing running,” he said.
Running, incidentally, began for him when he was in the medical school where he spent his free time training on a ground near his hostel. That hobby soon became more meaningful, and he even competed in the 1500m at the senior nationals last year (he clocked 3:43.69) and finished third in the New Delhi half marathon in October with a time of 1:05:16. Though Delhi is likely to be a flat course, running over four minutes faster to qualify will be tough.
Karkera has now shifted focus to the marathon, an event that demands undivided attention in preparation. The doctor says that his career, and an understanding of the anatomy, helps him train better.
“My education actually helps me because I know how to recover,” he said. “And I don’t have stress because I have this profession. I run for fun.”
Abate, Chekole winners
The marathon route this term took in stretches of the coastal road, adding to the inclines in the Kemp’s Corner-Pedder Road stretch that has to be tackled to and fro.
Despite this, Ethiopia’s Yeshi Chekole came within 58 seconds of breaking the women’s course record. Chekole clocked 2:25:13, short of Anchialem Haymanot’s course record of 2:24:15 set in 2023.
Chekole though was comfortably ahead of compatriot Kidsan Alema (2:27:35), while Gojjam Enyew (2:28:27) completed a clean sweep for Ethiopia.
Their compatriot Tadu Abate won the men’s race with a timing of 2:09:55, just ahead of Kenya’s Leonard Langat (2:10:10). Last year’s runner-up Merhawi Kesete of Eritrea came third (2:10:22).
Sanjivani Jadhav topped the race among Indian women. She denied Nirmaben Thakor a hat-trick of wins, clocking 2:49:02 to the defending champion’s 2:49:13. Sonam finished third with 2:49:24.
