Elite distance runners feel the stress of too many marathons

NEWDELHI: Elite distance runners, aiming to win a berth to the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, starting April 4, expressed enthusiasm but said they were feeling the stress of running too many marathon races within a short span of time. The IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon on Sunday is marked as the National Marathon Championship, and is the qualifying event for the Commonwealth Games.

India’s leading runners T Gopi and Nitender Singh Rawat are strong contenders to crack the men’s qualifying time of 2 hours 12 minutes 50 seconds, but it’s uncertain whether the duo have recovered from the Mumbai Marathon held on January 19. Gopi emerged champion followed by Rawat. At Mumbai, the duo was unable to achieve the CWG target time.

Gopi said he had taken some “easy days” to recover, but isn’t sure how his body will react on Sunday. ‘’I cut down on long runs and my focus was on speed training. Hopefully, it should help me run a good race,’’ he said on the eve of the race. His rival Rawat, however, said he might have recovered mentally, but physically he feels the strain. ‘’The calendar has become very crowded. Sometimes we have to run to earn some money,’’ he said.

Sunday’s race too offers marginal amount of prize money, with the winner in the main marathon earning R 1.5 lakh in both the men’s and women’s section. But Rawat said, this time his focus is not on money but to come within the qualifying time. “That’s important for me as it is the last chance to win a ticket to the CWG,’’ he added.

In the women’s section, the focus is on defending champion Monika Athare. The runner from Nashik had won the race last year in 2:39, a personal best. Since then she hasn’t improved her

timing.