3:45 Pace Bus - Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026

January 06, 2026 Last updated: January 11, 2026

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This page is for the 3.45 hour TMM pace group. This page may be updated going forward and will have all the information about this pace bus.

Brief introduction

1. I have been running since 2021
2. Have raced 3 full marathons with a personal best time of 2:50 at the Sydney Marathon 2025
3. Ran my first marathon at TMM 2024

Pacing strategy

I have decided to update my pacing strategy and divide the run into two mental sections - the first 34km and the final 8 plus some. Please treat these pacing numbers as a general guideline, and not as exact truths.

In the first 34km , the flat section target is 05:15 min/km. The 11th km has a climb and we will slow down to roughly 05:45 min/km pace there. 12th km has a drop and we will run it in 05:05 mins. There is a slight bump while approaching the Sea Link too (17th and 18th km), and we will slow down to 05:25 min/km there.

It seems like Peddar Road will be split between the 35th and 36th km. We will slow down considerably in the 35th, and then make use of the decline in the second half of the 36th and 37th km to cover time. After that, it is a fixed pace of 05:25 min/km till the finish line.

We will account for a few things like any surprises on the new route, not running on the tangent at all times, and the TMM course being longer than 42.2 for some people on their watches by keeping a buffer of about a minute but don’t worry about it too much.

NOTE: Since the barometric altimeter data for the new route is not available and only Google Earth data trends are, I have used the following terms to describe the elevation - Big Climb, Big Drop, Slight Drop and Gentle Climb. My only advice to all runners going for a fixed goal is to not be too rigid about precise kilometer splits and be mentally flexible.

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KM	Pace (min/km)	Time	Elevation
1	05:25	00:05:25	Flattish
2	05:15	00:10:40	Flattish
3	05:15	00:15:55	Flattish
4	05:15	00:21:10	Flattish
5	05:15	00:26:25	Flattish
6	05:15	00:31:40	Flattish
7	05:15	00:36:55	Flattish
8	05:15	00:42:10	Flattish
9	05:15	00:47:25	Flattish
10	05:15	00:52:40	Flattish
11	05:45	00:58:25	Big Climb
12	05:05	01:03:30	Big Drop
13	05:15	01:08:45	Flattish with Gentle Climb
14	05:15	01:14:00	Flattish
15	05:15	01:19:15	Flattish
16	05:15	01:24:30	Flattish
17	05:25	01:29:55	Small Climb
18	05:25	01:35:20	Small Climb
19	05:15	01:40:35	Flattish
20	05:15	01:45:50	Flattish
21	05:15	01:51:05	Flattish
22	05:15	01:56:20	Flattish
23	05:15	02:01:35	Flattish
24	05:15	02:06:50	Flattish
25	05:15	02:12:05	Flattish
26	05:15	02:17:20	Flattish
27	05:15	02:22:35	Flattish
28	05:15	02:27:50	Flattish
29	05:15	02:33:05	Flattish
30	05:15	02:38:20	Flattish
31	05:15	02:43:35	Flattish with Gentle Climb
32	05:15	02:48:50	Flattish
33	05:15	02:54:05	Flattish
34	05:15	02:59:20	Flattish
35	05:55	03:05:15	Big Climb
36	05:25	03:10:40	Climb then Big Drop
37	05:15	03:15:55	Slight Drop
38	05:25	03:21:20	Flattish
39	05:25	03:26:45	Flattish
40	05:25	03:32:10	Flattish
41	05:25	03:37:35	Flattish
42	05:25	03:43:00	Flattish
42.195	05:25	03:44:03	Flattish

Thoughts on the new route

Since this is the first time any of us is running this route, it is best to be prepared for a few surprises. Strava route builder also gives a result which is longer than the marathon length by 400ish meters. Hence, it is possible that a particular climb/drop comes a few hundred meters before/after we are expecting it. We will react to what we see in front of us instead of having a very rigid km by km plan. There was some confusion about the elevation on the Coastal Rd merge, but it is gentle and goes down immediately - which is why I have not dropped pace in the 13th km.

Logistics

I will start from Wave A and plan to be a few rows behind the start. I plan to be in the holding area by 4:45 AM. The first km can be chaotic and we might not be able to hit the goal split for it. If that happens, don’t worry or expend too much energy catching up - as we will make up for it gradually.

I plan to be at the expo on Friday and Saturday after 11 AM till early evening, and look forward to meet all visiting runners.

How to reach out

In case you want to reach out, you can do so via X or Strava. You can also join the official TMM 345 Pace Bus WhatsApp group (link shared via TMM email comms).

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I am thankful to Vijayaraghavan for his pacing writeup for the 2025 TMM, and this page draws heavily from it. It has a lot more details and personal insights about TMM, and is a must read.

I would also like to thank Sankalp Dutt for sharing on-ground evidence about the Coastal Rd approach.

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