Half marathon: Could've done better without shoes, says Supriya Patil

Ask any serious marathon runner and he will vouch for the indispensability of their shoes - but not Supriya Patil. For the 23-year-old, shoes are baggage she can do without.

Ask any serious marathon runner and he will vouch for the indispensability of their shoes. But not Supriya Patil. For the 23-year-old, shoes are baggage she can do without.


Half marathon winner Kavita Raut (centre), runner-up Eve Bugler and Supriya Patil (left) pose with their Mumbai Marathon medals and cheques on the podium yesterday. Pic/Sameer Markande 

Supriya, who hails from Uran, finished third in the half marathon event of the Mumbai Marathon yesterday after clocking a time of 1:26:48 secs. Only Kavita Raut (1:19:50) and Eve Bugler (1:22:18) finished above her.

But Supriya was staunch in her belief that she could have clocked a faster finish time, had it not been for her shoes.

"I usually run races without my shoes. And my timings are better than yesterday's. But I had a small foot injury which is why I had to run wearing shoes. I regret running with my shoes on," she told mid-day after the race yesterday.

Supriya might just have a point. In the 2012 Mumbai Marathon too, a barefoot Supriya had finished third, but back then, she had finished with a time of 01:23:15 — over three minutes less than her timing yesterday. Supriya added that back in Uran, due to the paucity of proper training grounds, she practiced on roads.

"If there are better facilities back home, I could improve my timings too," she said before adding that she runs with children in her area.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!