Bangalore witnesses a bevy of runners come October, for its home run Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon (SPBM). The 2018 edition witnessed close to 5K participants and this year promises to see a similar spectacle. The run route spans in the heart of the city covering Central Business District, the famous Cubbon park and other landmarks. This article will help you to get familiar with the route, elevation and insights from some of our seasoned runners.
Bangalore’s beauty is best enjoyed on Sunday morning when the city is still asleep and with no traffic around. This year, SPBM is on October 13th, 2019 (Sunday) and flags off from Kanteerava Stadium, the route is a loop for Half marathoners and two loops for marathoners. You will run through Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, State Library, GPO and the famous MG Road.
Cubbon park is spread over 120 Hectares and is home to more than 6000 trees, for the first time runners; take deep breaths in there :) also you will be running close to 10k in and around the park with a few “sharp”and some “U” turns. For those running this course for the first time, the park has deceiving uphills on some stretches, thus it will be important to pace yourself accordingly. The metro at MG road, made the whole stretch vibrant getting us in the mood to match it’s vibrancy, this road has a decline however, as we take a “U” turn, it will incline we well. Be watchful.
[Download the high resolution route map from here] (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xocHRgIipkz0RYSVFkTH5Xlm6EMYQ9Oy)
Start Point: Kanteerava Stadium Holding area for the marathon is at Kanteerava Stadium, which will provide a lot of space for warm up, there is also a 200mts track and you can also run round around the stadium. You can keep your belongings at the baggage counter within the stadium. Plenty of makeshift restrooms for men and women and hot delicious breakfast served post run.
Race Start: The race starts within the stadium and you have to cross a narrow gate to reach the main road. Runners running this route for the first time watchout, as it can get chaotic, better start slower than your usual pace, also remember there is a slight elevation to reach the main road from the stadium.
First 3 kilometers: Once you hit the main road runners will take a left for cubbon park, you will be running your first 3 kms towards the state library and then take a left from the dog park, exiting Cubbon park at Century club exit towards Vidhana Soudha. Here is a slight incline for 500mts., maintain a steady pace. The landmark Vidhana Soudha will be on your left while you cruise through it towards GPO then to Minsk square. You will take a “U” turn here to enter cubbon again from the high court entrance.
3 to 5 kilometers: As you cruise towards Queen’s Park, this stretch of cubbon will be from 3kms through 5kms. From Queen’s park you will take a right and also experience a bit of down hill towards Minsk square, this loss of elevation will be till CCD Square, exiting Cubbon park and take a left towards Kasturba Road.
6 to 7 kilometers: Kasturba road has a good elevation and continues for about 800 mts, which meets Queen’s road connecting you to Cubbon road. Watch out for 6th & 7th kms for a gradual elevation and a good distraction is Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy stadium towards your right. Pace yourself well here.
8 to 12 kilometers: Kilometers 8th through 12th are a decline and you can enjoy a tempo pace with few turns. You will run from Cubbon road all the way till Manipal center and take a “U” turn. On your way back to Cubbon road there is a detour towards Anil Kumble circle and back. This is all net elevation loss so take deep breaths and enjoy your steady tempo pace.
13 to 16 kilometers: You will experience an elevation loss all through MG Road till Manipal centre junction (u-turn point) and then back towards Kasturba Road which will entail 13th through 16th Kms. And you will come back on the same route thus have a mental frame set for the tempo and the return uphill task :). By now you are already sweating.
Last 5 kilometers: This is good news for half marathoners as you have just 5 more kilometers left, in and around Cubbon park. You will trace the route back the same way you entered cubbon i.e. Queens Park, Vidhana Soudha and back into Cubbon park crossing the State library on your left. You will cover 16th through 20th kms. and now is the last spell of the race coming out of the gate towards the finish line, set your mind right and your strides straight. Give yourself a pep talk, get the best of the downhill and cross the finish line with a champion’s smile. For the marathoners you go through the same drill twice!
| #KM in 1st loop | #KM in 2nd loop | Description | Elevation Gain (in m) | Elevation loss (in m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22.1 | Start to Cubbon Park gate | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 23.1 | Cubbon park straight and Century club gate | 9 | 3 |
| 3 | 24.1 | Reaching Vidhana Soudha | 12 | 0 |
| 4 | 25.1 | Vidhana Soudha and Queens Park | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | 26.1 | Inside Cubbon Park | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | 27.1 | Kasturba Road | 3 | 9 |
| 7 | 28.1 | Kasturba Road & Queens road | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | 29.1 | Cubbon Road | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | 30.1 | Cubbon Road | 0 | 8 |
| 10 | 31.1 | Cubbon Road | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | 32.1 | Cubbon Road | 3 | 1 |
| 12 | 33.1 | Queens Road & MG Road | 0 | 6 |
| 13 | 34.1 | MG Road | 2 | 7 |
| 14 | 35.1 | MG Road | 6 | 3 |
| 15 | 36.1 | MG Road | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | 37.1 | Kasturba Road | 1 | 9 |
| 17 | 38.1 | Cubbon Park | 7 | 4 |
| 18 | 39.1 | Queens Park | 10 | 1 |
| 19 | 40.1 | Vidhana Soudha | 2 | 12 |
| 20 | 41.1 | Vidhana Soudha into Cubbon park again | 2 | 10 |
| 21.1 | 42.2 | Cubbon Park to Finish line | 0 | 3 |
GPX, Strava and Garmin Routes
If you want to do your own analysis of the route, and you are Strava or a Garmin user, you can click the picture below to follow the route.
[
] (https://www.strava.com/activities/2766283802) [
] (https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4128706924/share/0?lang=en)
Here is a GPX file, if you are feeling Geeky!
Post finish: Your medal will be handed over shortly after crossing the finish line. Wear it proudly. Use the space inside the Kanteerva stadium to cool down – don’t stop after the race, walk for a bit, do your stretches.
Once you have caught up with your friends and taken enough pictures for social media, don’t forget to have the warm & delicious breakfast. The event tries to be green to the maximum extent, so please ensure you do your bit. If possible avoid throwing your plastic bottle and use the same for refills.
Aditi Pandya is an avid runner, a writer and a fitness enthusiast. She is second runners up at Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2019 in Women open half-marathon category.