Nirmaben Thakor shines brightest at the TATA Mumbai Marathon, but...

... Indian women’s elite winner and defending champion Thakor rues lack of hydration support en route

Nirmaben Thakor put on a masterclass in endurance to successfully defend her crown in the Indian women’s elite category at the Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday. She blitzed her way, clocking 2:50:06, a good 49 seconds quicker than her closest combatant, Sonika Parmar (2:50:55), who bagged the silver medal.

Twenty-year-old Sonam, making her full marathon debut, crossed the line third with a timing of 2:55:45.

Thakor, who was in second place for most part of the first half of the race, made an expertly timed late charge to emerge fastest. However, despite being the only elite category athlete to defend her title on the day, Thakor bemoaned the lack of hydration along the gruelling course.

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Not happy despite win

“Even though I finished first, I’m not very happy. I wasn’t provided water frequently on the route. Secondly, throughout the race, there were two bikes and/or cycles alongside the leader for support, but I did not see anyone near us [the trailing group]. We were running alone. It felt like we had no value,” she said.

While there is one main lead vehicle that is always in front of the international men’s elite runners, there are some support vehicles [motorbikes or cycles] that accompany other lead groups like the Indian men’s elite or Indian women’s elite groups. While these vehicles indicate to runners that they are leading, they also provide other nutritional or technical support, if needed.

Sonam also echoed her senior compatriot’s thoughts. “It was difficult to know what position we were in because there was no one [support bike or cycle] around us. Afterwards, when I felt my body get tighter, there was no one to offer any [muscle relaxant] spray or gel during the race. If we had a cycle or two accompanying us, it would give us that much more confidence. Also, in the last five kilometres, I didn’t get water when that is the time you require water the most,” said Sonam.

Parmar exhausted

Meanwhile, second-placed Parmar, who managed to stay ahead of Thakor in the initial stages of the race before eventually falling behind, blamed it on exhaustion. “I participated in a lot of competitions recently. I ran a 42km race on December 31, then a national cross-country race as well, so my body did not get a chance to recover fully,” said Parmar.

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