Post my voluntary retirement, my wife Susan and I have set new priorities - frequent travels, quality time with extended family, and catching up with friends now in the mix, sticking to my training schedule has become a challenge. My focus now is to squeeze in runs between these commitments. Whenever I’m in town, I make it a point to clock in some extra mileage during my training runs. My baseline endurance is reasonably good, so the main goal has been to maintain it. Chasing a personal best however remains beyond imagination, as it would demand years of focused effort and commitment.
I log 3 to 4 runs along with 2 strengthening sessions per week, while taking 1 or 2 days off for personal commitments. When I’m in town, my weekday runs average around 21kms, and my weekend outings are longer—usually a steady 30 kms, with occasional 34 km and 35 km runs. Since I run only thrice a week, every session is at a medium pace, with intensity varied within that range. I skip the easy runs, as the fear of injury prevents me from pushing into intense interval or tempo workouts. During the training for the Mumbai Marathon, my weekly mileage has ranged between 65 kms and 95 kms.
All my runs are solo, which allows me to focus 100% on my running form. As a ChiRunning certified instructor, I value the importance of maintaining efficient, effortless form, and running relaxed, breathing easy, even at a strong pace.
My strengthening sessions last about 90 minutes: a 30-minute warm-up, followed by 45 minutes of exercises - mixing up planks, squats, lunges, crunches, push-ups, and parallel bars, and finishing off with around 15 minutes of cool-down stretches.
During the taper week, my focus was on rest and recovery for the race. On 13th Jan, I knocked out 10 × 400m intervals at a medium pace, and on 15th Jan, I clocked a steady 15km run. The 14th and 16th were dedicated to basic strengthening sessions.
On 17th Jan, I caught a flight to Mumbai and headed straight to the Expo to soak in the vibrancy of the event. It was energizing to meet and greet runners from across the country while strolling through the various stalls.
I knew that the 17th and 18th would be tiring on my feet—with travel, time at the Expo, and catching up with friends. These are usually the most exhausting two days, but they also offer the chance to do what I love most: meeting fellow runners from Mumbai and from all across the country.
The night before the race, I did a mental rehearsal of the race, gearing up and visualizing how I wanted my run to unfold.
I woke up at 2am (three hours before the run start time) and stuck to my usual morning routine. I began with a glass of warm water followed by a cup of coffee to wake up the muscles and gear up for the race. To prevent chafing, I applied Vaseline liberally over every area where my shorts touch the body.
I took a couple of minutes to enjoy some relaxed breathing and mentally rehearse how I wanted the race to go. At 4am, I left the hotel with the PaceMakers group and set off on a warm-up jog towards Azad Maidan. Along the way, I met and greeted several fellow runners as we warmed up together.
Once I arrived, my first priority was to drop off my tee at the baggage counter. That process took over 30 minutes, leaving me with little time for my regular warm-up drills. I then rushed toward the holding area, where I met Dany. He was pushing through the crowd to get closer to the start line. I followed him and managed to secure a spot with a good view of the flag-off stage.
Two minutes before the start, I took my first gel and a quick sip of water. It took me around 40 seconds to cross the start line, with a 250ml water bottle in hand to stick to my hydration strategy. Hydration strategy was to consume around 250ml water every 3 kms. Hence would have consumed over 3 ltrs through the run. Fueling strategy was to take a gel every 6 kms.
The first 2kms were all about weaving through the crowded pack to secure a reasonable lead. After that, my focus shifted to settling into a relaxed rhythm. I deliberately put in no extra effort, and I just wanted to maintain an average pace of around 4m30s per km. Along the way, I found myself running alongside a group of like-minded runners, and we supported each other to keep the momentum. The key was to enjoy every moment and keep the breathing relaxed.
Reaching the Worli Sea Face was a pleasant surprise - a long, smooth stretch of quality tarmac made it easier to glide through a slight elevation. The run flowed well through Mahim Church, Shivaji Park, and Worli Naka. However, as I approached the dreaded Peddar Road, fatigue started to set in, and I knew I had to ramp up the effort. Even there, I surprised myself by maintaining a pace of 4m45s per km.
By the 36th km, my calves and quads were clearly complaining. I had to be extra cautious, ensuring I wouldn’t cramp during the final 6 kms before the finish line. On the long stretch of Marine Drive, full marathoners enjoyed a dedicated lane, allowing us to run without the hassle of weaving through half marathoners.
Throughout the race, I kept reminding myself that my year-long, diligent training had led me to this moment. With just a couple of kilometers left to the finish line, the temptation to take a short walk break was always present—but I knew stopping would make it hard to regain my rhythm.
I pushed on strong, and just before the final kilometer, I received a big cheer from Kavita, Deepak, and Krishna that spurred me to go even harder. In those final moments, I wasn’t checking my watch or finish line clock; I was solely focused on crossing the finish line as fast as I could. After the race, I took a 15-minute break before finally checking my watch. To my delight, I had finished in about 3 hours and 12 minutes - well under the 3 hours 15 minutes target.
I loved every moment at the finish line. There’s something magical about watching runners pick up speed and witnessing the sheer joy on their faces as they cross that final line. I got to meet so many fellow runners, and we exchanged nods of mutual respect and encouragement. Loads of photos were snapped, and each one a treasured memory for the years ahead. I took a moment to thank God for this opportunity and for successfully carrying me across the finish line.
The event always exceeds all my expectations, and I truly enjoyed every moment. Being a barefooter found that the quality of the tarmac roads were much better and cleaner than the previous editions. The number of Ice packs offered at the finish line was just unbelievable. Used that reasonably well around the Calfs and Quads.
Have to complement OneGlint for adding more Photographers through the route. Got a lot of pics to be treasured as memories.
Over all our Mumbaikars and Procam provided an outstanding service of supporting the running community. The energy levels through the race keeps calling us to ensure that we do not miss this event in the years ahead. Also, meeting hundreds of runners and hearing their inspiring stories was a constant reminder of why I love this sport.
Bobby, known in running circles as “Barefoot Bobby”, qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2014 and was the first Indian to have run the Boston Marathon, Barefoot. Bobby ran his first Sub 3 hrs marathon at Mumbai Marathon ’17 and later has run 6 Marathons under sub 3 hrs. His personal bests for 10k is 36m:23s, Half Marathon is 1h:18m:37s & Marathon is 2h:55m:00s.