Road work forces changes to Mumbai Marathon route

The police, however, reassure runners that they will have a smooth run despite the many challenges en route

Ongoing construction work has entailed route changes in the half-marathon and there will be slightly narrower roads on stretches for the full marathoners, too, at the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) to be run on Sunday, January 15.

Officials and organisers spoke at a conference on Wednesday evening at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh at Azad Maidan, SoBo, of several challenges ongoing work brings. Yet, the mood was upbeat and officials claimed they could sense excitement everywhere as the premier running event returned to the city, post a COVID-induced haitus.

Race director Hugh Jones, who like every year, he has been with the race since inception, flew in from the UK a few days ago stated, “I could not recognise a few areas from the airport into South Mumbai, so changed do they look because of all the construction. There was slight panic, too, as I thought to myself, how are we going to cope with all this? Yet, the cooperation and enthusiasm has ensured the route has worked out. I think there may be some uneven patches on the roads because of the work. The start of the half-marathon (21 km) has moved from the Worli Dairy to Mahim Reti Bunder in a major change.”

Also Read: Tata Mumbai Marathon: South Africans to set the pace

The police

Raj Tilak Roushan, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, and Vishal Thakur (DCP, operations) were especially reassuring at the conference, pointing out the thousands of police personnel who will be on the road that Sunday, to ensure a smooth race. “We have several diversions for routes that have been closed off for the race. For the marathon itself, we are ready for all challenges, do not worry we are here,” they said with confidence and good cheer.

Dr Vijay D’Silva, medical director, TMM stated, “We have 500 personnel on ground that day, 450 medical staff and 50 volunteers. There will be 13 ambulances each with a doctor and nurse plying on the route and 13 ‘mobile medics’ doctors on motorcycles. We have 16 aid stations on route and three base camps with 130 beds in total.” The doctor acknowledged that, “through the years, there has been a steady improvement in endurance of runners. The number of medical emergencies, even injuries of not so serious a nature have dropped. This means people are training well. I dream of a time when nobody may need any medical intervention during or post race. We will always be ready, though.”

Satish Uchil said there will be many international and national technical officials to ensure a fair race, “especially at the turning points where there can be greater chances of cheating.” Vivek Singh, joint managing director of Procam International, stressed the race’s “zero to landfill” commitment pointing out the “reduce, recycle and resuse” initiatives, adding that the route will be cleared of “all waste within five hours of all race category closures.” 

There are 55,000 plus runners across different categories expected on Sunday, with the full marathoners beginning at 5.15 am and the elite full marathoners beginning at 7.20 am from CSMT. 

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