Procam's fifth impact survey of the Tata Mumbai Marathon asked 4,600 runners how they prepare and what they spend. The answers are interesting, and here is the summary from the report.
Every year, a few months after the Mumbai Marathon, Procam International publishes a report on the Tata Mumbai Marathon. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen many runners talk about it. That’s a pity.
This year’s report is published a week ago by IISM and Procam. They surveyed more than 4,000 runners around this year’s race, and the report has the most detailed publicly available picture of India’s runners training and buying preferences.
The report mentions ₹663 crore of “socio-economic impact” which is genuinely impressive. The report also has some impressive insights for runners. We have kept aside the chapters on Social & economic impact, sustainability for this article, and also the participation statistics which we covered in January. We summarized the runner’s part of the story below.
Mumbai marathon runners trains in the morning: 78 per cent run before work, 17 per cent in the evening.
Two-thirds of the participants train on concrete roads, which the report describes as “aligning with the asphalt-heavy race course”. But anyone who has looked for a soft surface in indian cities will recognise it is really about the absence of choice. A third of the participants use parks. Only one in ten runs trails.
Sixteen per cent of runners have a coach. Thirty-nine per cent are self-trained, 27 per cent train “without specialised coaching” (not sure what this means, may be using stock plans?) and 17 per cent train with friends or a club. Nearly two-thirds belong to no club at all.
Asked where their motivation comes from, 56 per cent said themselves, 18 per cent friends, and family and running clubs 10 per cent each. Influencers and sports icons together come to about 2 per cent, which may be worth passing on to the influencers.
Three-quarters train at least three days a week, 27 per cent five or six, and 9 per cent every day. Eighty-two per cent do a weekly long run. The long run itself is short: 45 per cent cap it at 10 to 20 km, 25 per cent at 21 to 32 km, and only 12 per cent go beyond 32 km, in a sample where two in five were entered for the full marathon.
Long runs are the favourite session (31 per cent), then intervals (26) and tempo runs (24). Hills trail at 19 per cent, in a city where the one notable climb, Peddar Road, is the part of the course everyone dreads.
Eighty-two per cent say a marathon takes a year or more to prepare for. Thirty-five per cent had moved up a distance this year and 27 per cent were at TMM for the first time.
Ninety-eight per cent of runners said that strength training is essential for a marathoner. However, only sixty-four per cent do any strength training.
The mind gets the same treatment. Ninety-four per cent said mental preparation is as important as physical training, or more so; 43 per cent use any specific technique. Among those who do, exercise itself is the most common way of managing nerves (35 per cent), then positive self-talk (22.5) and meditation (22). A third admit to pre-race anxiety, which sounds about right to anyone who has stood in the CSMT corrales early in the morning.
Sleep is where the gap is widest and least discussed. Forty-six per cent get six to seven hours before a long run, 28 per cent get five to six and 9 per cent under five. More than a third start the most important session of the week on less than six hours. The report calls this “most runners prioritising proper rest”. But I don’t think so.
The money goes to the middle of the market: 30 per cent pay ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 a pair and 29 per cent pay ₹10,000 to ₹15,000. Only 5 per cent go beyond ₹20,000, and 22 per cent stay under ₹5,000. Comfort decides it for a quarter of buyers, ahead of durability (16 per cent) and price (13). A coach sways 12 per cent, looks 10, discounts 6, and weight, for all the marketing devoted to it, 5.
Most keep a small rotation: 57 per cent own two or three pairs, 24 per cent four or more, 19 per cent a single pair. Forty-six per cent buy a new pair each year and 25 per cent every six months. Loyalty is thin. Nearly half switched brands two or three times in the past three years; 4 per cent never have.
What prompts the purchase is the most interesting in the section. A worn-out pair is the top reason at 43 per cent, as it should be. Close behind, at 39 per cent, is the arrival of “an advanced version, lighter or carbon-plated”. Buying during a sale is 26 per cent, a coach 22 and a fellow runner 16.
On where runners first hear of a shoe, the report’s chart incorrectly lists “company/brand website” twice, at 24.7 and 19.8 per cent, while its commentary says the show-rooms lead; so we assume 24.7 is the shoe show-room’s share. Friends account for 19 per cent, and Instagram and YouTube advertising together for about 15.
The runners dresses simply: a T-shirt for 68 per cent, a singlet for 25; shorts for 51 per cent, shorts with an inner tight for 27, tights for 10. For clothing, unlike shoes, Instagram and Youtube matters: 20 per cent name ads and influencers as their main source, second only to friends and family at 23.
The smartwatch is the accessory of choice, with a quarter of all mentions, ahead of hats, sunglasses and waist pouches. Eighty per cent track every run on an app, and they do not pay for it: 64 per cent use the free tier of their app, 13 per cent pay under ₹500 a month and 12 per cent more than ₹1,000. The report indicates “a strong opportunity for freemium models”.
Hydration is mostly handheld. Fifty-eight per cent carry a lightweight bottle, 24 per cent rely on the stations and 15 per cent wear a vest. On race day, 29 per cent drink plain water, 20 per cent add electrolyte powder and 7 per cent list tea or coffee, a choice I am not able to understand. I’ve never seen tea served at an aid station.
The individual answers show the spread. On gear, tech and home equipment, 42 per cent spent ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 in the past year and 33 per cent under ₹10,000; 21 per cent spent more than ₹25,000. Training and membership fees follow the same shape: 42 per cent pay ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 a year, 41 per cent less, 6 per cent more than ₹50,000. There is no mention of race sign-up fees. I bet going forward that will be a big chunk.
The report puts running-related spending by TMM participants at ₹602 crore a year, and the largest slice is not shoes. Health, nutrition and training account for ₹278 crore, 46 per cent. Food, accommodation and travel come to ₹121 crore, shoes and apparel ₹113 crore, technology and equipment ₹88 crore. Prize money, the only line that flows the other way, is ₹3.5 crore, under 1 per cent.
The health spend is at ₹278 crore. Twenty-nine per cent spent nothing on doctors, physiotherapists or nutritionists in the past year and 41 per cent under ₹10,000. Supplements are a modest monthly habit: 42 per cent spend ₹1,000 to ₹10,000, 35 per cent under ₹1,000, 17 per cent nothing. Only 38 per cent have ever discussed their diet with a professional.
Set against income, none of this is trivial. Thirty per cent of respondents earn under ₹7.5 lakh a year and 64 per cent under ₹20 lakh; those above ₹50 lakh, the earners the sport is assumed to attract, are 6 per cent. For a runner on ₹10 lakh, the typical outlay on shoes, fees, gear and supplements comes close to a month’s salary.
