Pacers

Anirudha Athani (44) from Nashik is extremely passionate about running and fitness. For him, running is a ‘Meditation in motion’, and an excellent means for all-around self-improvement. He is also a Certified Marathon Trainer (2015) and leads a training group in Nashik called ActivNRG Athletic Club. He says his core purpose is ‘To Make a Positive Impact on society’, and he fulfils it by helping improve the fitness and quality of life for hundreds of beginners and amateur runners at his club since the past 4 years.

He’s been running half and full marathons for the past 7 years. After running his first ultra in 2015 he has also run several ultras from 50 km going up to the 24-hour trail ultra. Significant achievements include finishing the Comrades Marathon (87 km) in June 2017 in 9:58 with negative splits, overall Winner at Pune Ultra Marathon (100km) in Nov 2017 and Overall 2nd place finish in Ozone Endurance challenge (24-hr trail ultra) in the USA in June 2018.

His personal best for FM is 3:39 hrs.

Over the years, he has paced at several Half and Full marathons at Thane, Pune, Goa, Aurangabad, Nashik, Hyderabad, etc. He enjoys pacing as for him it’s a good way to give back to the running community and help others benefit from his knowledge and skill.

By education, he is an Engineer and MBA and handles his family’s Warehousing business at Nashik.

Kapil Arora is a 43 -year old runner, who over the last 11 years, has completed 4 consecutive Comrades Ultra marathon 90km Race in South Africa, Two IRONMAN 70.3 Miles in Brazil and Phuket ,10 Full Marathons which includes 8 years Mumbai Marathon, Authentic Marathon in Athens, Greece and countless half marathons across the world.

He has also been the 1.45 Hr -hour pacer at Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2015 where he successfully brought the bus home in 01:44:42

Kapil running journey began as a busy executive in Corporate World looking to get fit. His coach Brinston Miranda from “Be Fit” running club guided him and before he realized, he was serious about his running and was somewhere securing massive control over his life.

Kapil’ s Personal Best for the Full Marathon is 3 hours, 41 minutes – in Mumbai Marathon, 2015. A regular podium finisher, Kapil also competes in almost all formats, be it Ultra Marathons, IRONMAN, Marathons, 10K’s or even track and field. In Recently concluded Masters Athletic Meet in Maharashtra, he won a Gold Medal in 1500 meters race in his age category with a time of 5.42 Minutes.

Kapil was signed by Sports Brand Puma for three years as their running ambassador and recently has been appointed as American shoe brand Brooks and D:FY Athlete.

Professionally, KAPIL is a Segment Head at Reliance Nippon Life Asset Mgt Company and believes running has immensely helped him take crucial business decisions while meeting investors. Definitely, his ability to be Focus, maintain Discipline, Calmness has all been imbibed by his passion and training extensively.

Kapil is being invited often called to deliver speeches and share his rich experiences across the globe to motivate and charge young executives towards a healthy and disciplined life. His other passion, reading books mainly on Time Management and productivity. He reads around 7 books a month and this has helped him to gain immense advantage and perspective to lead a disciplined and successful life. He believes Time management = Life management

His new book is under production and will be out soon.

Meet Paddy

He likes the idea of being fit. And so, the Gym was his hang-out. One day, while lifting heavy weights, he felt slight stress in his wrist. Not willing to let go of his fitness regimen, he began to walk. He walked and walked. The walk became a jog. The jog became a run. He ran and ran and now, he continues to run… there is no stopping the champion in him.

Over the last six years, he has completed 6 Full Marathons – including the prestigious and electrifying Amsterdam and New York Marathons, 1 Comrades Ultra Marathon, 1 Tata Ultra Marathon and innumerable Half marathons.

It is strange how when you run alone you make a thousand friends. While Paddy finds running exhilarating and liberating, it has also brought him in touch with fellow-runners who raise their bars of performance by rising to ever-new challenges in different formats of this sport. Every day is a learning day for him with his Running Mates.

Paddy’s personal best for the Full Marathon is 3 hours, 42 minutes – in TMM, 2018.

In June 2018, he completed the Debut Comrades 90 km Down Hill Run in 9.34 hours.

He is a Pacer for 4.10 - Hour Bus – and this means that he can help aspiring runners breach the Sub 4.10 Hour Mark.

Outside of the Running Circle, this 42-year-old is known as Padmanabhan Ganesh who is in the business of Hospitality Services and owns a company – Arista Service Apartments. Both his passions, his business and his running, require the same mental strengths – perseverance and the thirst to succeed.

Does it really matter that he has an M.B.A from Mumbai University?

Binay Kumar Sah is an avid marathon runner, Cyclist & fitness enthusiast.

For him running is a process of self-discovery. He wants to touch and inspire as many lives as he can. That’s what drives him and adds meaning to his existence!

Having run more than 50 official races across various categories including 10km / half marathon /full marathon / Duathlon & Ultra races in last 3 years in India & Overseas

Binay’s personal best timings are 1.33hrs for a half marathon & 3.32hrs for a full marathon.

Running is a daily routine for him. It’s like having a meal every day and without which he doesn’t feel that his day is complete. Running has helped him stay connected and be more lovable to his family. He started running 4 years back from short distance runs to long distance running. Running has helped him to be more fit, focused and brought a discipline in his personal and professional life.

He believes in “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will!”. So, go for it whatever is in your mind.

Pinto Mandal began running at the age of 21. Having been immobilized for a day due to a medical procedure, he realized how important it was to value certain aspects in life that we often take for granted. This experience pushed him towards taking up fitness seriously and that is how running came to be in his life. Unsurprisingly, his decision to begin running came from witnessing the Mumbai Marathon. The spirit of the runners and the support from people around was reason enough for him to embark on this journey. Quoting a famous Ultra runner, he says that he runs “because he does not know where the cap in his potential lies”. He believes that it is yourself that you must challenge and be better than what you were a day ago.

In the almost 8 years of his running journey, Pinto has clocked finishes at 27 Marathon, 37 Half Marathon, 15 Ultra Marathons and numerous races of other distances. His achievements include finishing the Comrades Ultra Marathon three years in a row (2016 to 2018), scoring podium finishes at a few Marathons in the country and being the runner-up at the Mumbai 12-Hour Stadium Run in 2017. Apart from the podiums, he adds the grueling Khardungla 72K Challenge and Malnad Ultra (110K) runs from this year to his kitty.

Pinto clocked his personal best timing for the Full Marathon distance at the Goa River Marathon, 2016, finishing the race in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 26 seconds. His Half Marathon personal best timing was clocked at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, 2015, which was 1 hour 41 minutes and 38 seconds.

The Mumbai Marathon has never been about P.B., says Pinto. He admits that he enjoys the run and likes to take it easy. After having run 95+ races, he has learnt how gratifying the experience of helping someone achieve their goals can feel. Having been on the receiving end of support, his pacing experiences in the recent past have encouraged him to utilize his learnings and help people achieve their targets. He believes that there will always be chances to clock P.B. timings, but the opportunity to help fellow runners is one he wouldn’t miss.

Professionally, Pinto works in the KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) sector, focusing primarily on MIS, Business Intelligence and Analytics. He works in the night shift. He trains in the morning after getting back from work. This means it is paramount for him to strike a clear balance between work, training and rest. With time, he believes that challenges will only get tougher and that it is exactly these challenges that excite him!

K.Haridasan Nair, Ex-Army man, Coach of Runtastics…Dilse (Wellness Paradigm) since 4 years lives in Thane and completed 34 years of running in Aug 2018.

…For him running was and is his passion and slowly he realized that it is also a means for healthy and hearty life. It made him feel stress free. It gave him a chance to interact with many peoples.

He has participated in various events such as Goa Marathon, Bangalore Marathon, Hyderabad Marathon, Allahabad Marathon, Udaipur Marathon, Delhi Marathon, Mumbai Marathon, Satara Marathon, Vasai Virar Marathon, Thane Mayor Marathon., 12-hour Mumbai ultra 4 times and 2 times 75km Bangalore ultra 2015, 2016 and 2-time 12 Hour Mumbai stadium run in Aug 2016 d 2017 and 100km Bangalore ultra 2017

He has completed more than 200 Half Marathon, 140 Full Marathon and 25 Ultramarathon. He also ran a distance from Pune to Panvel (104Km).

He did his first Comrade run in 2018 at South Africa in 11.07hours

As a pacer he paced various major events: Mumbai Marathon (HM, 2.10 PACER 2016 & FM,4.45 PACER 2017), Vasai Virar Marathon (FM,5 HOURS 2016), Satara Hill marathon(HM), Kalyan Marathon (HM), Navi Mumbai Marathon (HM), Tarblazer (HM), Chembur Run (10km), 10 km Intencity, Kalwa 10km run, HTHM (HM) etc

…Dilse

Dr. Kalpesh Joshi is a 47 years old runner who has been practicing running since last five years. He has completed 40 half marathons, 15 full marathons, 10 ultramarathons in the last five years. He has completed one of the world`s toughest ultra-marathon i.e. Comrades – the ultimate human race twice, for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018 and has also won a bronze medal in 2018. His personal best for half marathon is 1:46 min and 4 hrs. for the full marathon.

He has also completed long route cycling of 200, 300, 400 and 600 kilometers in the same year thereby gaining the title of SR (Super Randonnuer). He has also completed 1000 kilometers BRM cycling in this same year.

He was a pacer for 2:15 min and 2 hr. at Surat City Half Marathon in 2016 and 2017, where he successfully crossed the finish line in 2:14 min and 1:59 min respectively with his fellow runners. He was also the pacer for 4:45 min in Surat City Marathon where he finished in 4:44 min.

Inspired by his running career, her teen daughter wrote a book on him titled- “My dad, my superhero!!!”, a must-read book for runners especially beginners. As a pacer, his main aim is to promote and encourage fellow runners and help them to finish their races with their personal bests as well as cross the finish line injury-free.

He is the founder member of the Valsad Racers Group, which has been conducting various cycling and running events in the small town of Valsad. By profession, he is a consulting physician (MD medicine) with a special interest in diabetes and critical care medicine. He is the chairman and one of the founder directors of a 105- bed multispecialty hospital- LOTUS hospital at Valsad, Gujarat.

48-year-old Ashish Gandhi can be regularly seen pounding the streets and beaches of Juhu almost every morning for about 8 years now. In this time, he has run innumerable half and full marathons across the country and has also raised money, for charities and causes he is passionate about, along the way.

Someone who firmly believes in the adage that “the body achieves what the mind believes,” he achieved his “high” at the Comrades marathon, the ultimate human race, which he finished in 11 hours 28 minutes in June this year.

A master’s in management studies from NMIMS, Mumbai University, he quit his corporate career to satisfy his entrepreneurial drive and currently runs a successful packaging company. He is also the Secretary at Bombay Industries Association and a member of the Managing Committee at WICMA.

For someone who led a sedentary lifestyle till 40 years of age when he started running, he often jokes that he began running because he had a “midlife crisis.” He has come a long way since then in accepting this fundamental urge within himself, which has altered his life and his lifestyle. Ashish runs because, for him, it is symbolic of life itself, wherein you must drive yourself to overcome obstacles, find your inner strength and realize that you are capable of so much more than you imagined. He says that running is his ME time and helps him counter the stress and worries of life. If he had to sum it up, he would say, “I run because I must.” He strongly believes that one needs to train the mind along with one’s body, because we run as much with our mind and heart as with our body, and this is one aspect that is often overlooked.

This will be his 7th full marathon in Mumbai, having run the 2018 edition in 4 hours 21 minutes, he achieved his PB at the Adani Ahmedabad marathon, 2018, which he finished in 4 hours 05 minutes. Ashish now also motivates others with his passion, taking people along as he runs, helping them to achieve their dreams. Pacing at this year’s Tata Mumbai Marathon would mean he can give back something to running that has given him so much in life.

Hetal Thakkar is a 36year old runner, who over the last nine years, has completed 5 full marathons and many half marathons. She has run many half and full marathons in races like Tata Mumbai Marathon, TCS Amsterdam Marathon, TCS New York Marathon, Satara Hill Half marathon to name a few.

She has run Silvassa Endurathon (27Kms) and Tata Ultra Marathon (50kms) with podium finishes. She has run Comrades - The Ultimate Human Race twice. The up run with a time of 11:51:50 and the down run with a time of 11:20:35.

Hetal's journey as a runner began in 2010 when she wanted to try a few of endurance sport. She joined marathon training at a club nearby. Since then she has never looked back.

Her half marathon PB is 1:54:41 and her full marathon PB is 4:17:34. Pacing will give her an opportunity to help many runners reach their potential and achieve their targets and PBs which will be a fantastic experience for her.

Hetal by profession is a teacher and a choreographer. She teaches Language and Math Skills at Masterclass. She is also a certified Marathon Trainer from ESA accredited by ACSM and thus helps novice runners with running plans and strategies.

Dr. Anand Patil is a 55-year old runner, who over the last 10 years, has completed innumerable full marathons including Berlin (2010), New York (2011 and 2014), Boston (2018), Chicago (2018) Full Marathons. He is the Indian to have completed 7 Comrades, along with 8 Half and 7 full ironman, Ultraman and Deccan Cliff Hanger (Pune to Goa) cycle challenge twice as a podium finisher.

Dr.Patil’s running journey began with a simple desire to lose weight. Over time, the half marathons turned to full marathons; those evolved into Comrades and diversified into Ironman and Ultraman. These engagements and passion were accompanied by accolades, but more importantly created wonderful memories and beautiful friendships.

Dr. Patils personal Best for the Full Marathon is 3 hours, 59 minutes – in Chicago, 2018. Dr. Patil’s concept of Energy Management, Organic athletics and health mapping have added the much-needed scientific perspective to amateur running in India.

Professionally, Dr. Patil is a trained surgeon and has a total of 11 degrees to his credit, including an M.Sc. in biotech, M.Phil in Anthropology, LLB and journalism. He is a pioneer in the field of training for competitive exams, and countless administrative officers in Maharashtra and India look upto him as their mentor and lakhs of aspirants give his guidance a 5-star rating. Moreover, because of his passion for endurance events, many of the senior officers in Maharashtra’s administration now consider him as their mentor in the field of amateur running too. He is also director of the Indian Institute of Fitness and Wellness which does health mapping of individuals and groups and conducts certification programs for marathon trainers.

Mukesh Waje is a 42-year old runner, who over the last 3 years, has completed Comrades2018 - 90kms, TataUltra2018 - 50kms, 2 Full Marathons and 10 half marathons.

Mukesh’s running journey began as a therapy to cure his back, to be able to walk. He was bedridden for 3 months not been able to move more than couple of steps to do his daily chores. As a part of his physiotherapy routine of walk and strengthening he started little jog graduating to running a 10km after 6-8 months of rehab and training. Over time, the early mornings alarm became music to his ears and before he realized running turned into passion. Over the countless hours of running and training, Mukesh is most grateful for the passionate friends, the special memories, and the fact that running helps him start his day by doing exactly what he loves to do.

Mukesh’s Personal Best for the Full Marathon is 3 hours, 49 minutes – in Ahmedabad Marathon, 2018. Mukesh is thorough excited to pace the 4:50 hour bus at the Mumbai Marathon 2019, and is looking forward to helping people achieve their best and qualify for Comrades 2019, if planned.

Professionally, Mukesh, heads marketing at TransUnion CIBIL Ltd and finds great similarities between his day job and running – none more important than the ability to remain focused on the end goal and course correct on the go. Academically, Mukesh is a commerce graduate from Sydenham and MBA in marketing.

Dr. Vedang Murthy is a 44-year old doctor, who over the last 7 years has completed several marathons and ultramarathons. In addition to running the Mumbai Marathon since 2012, he has participated in international races like the London and Vienna Marathons and he has also recently completed two back-to-back Comrades Ultramarathons (the ultimate human race) in South Africa.

Like most, Vedang’s running story began with a desire to get fit/lose weight as he reached the “mid-life”. Becoming part of Navi Mumbai Runners was the cornerstone of his growth as a runner. After the recent Comrades (2017, 2018), he had a desire to pace for runners and friends who want to achieve the often-elusive sub 5-hour target, either as a personal goal or to qualify for Comrades. Although he feels he is currently fit, for him the PB goal is a never-ending one that can wait! He also seems to have developed a keen sense of pacing over the years and has improved in successive Mumbai Marathons from ‘bombed/shattered/crawled’ in the second half to an equal/negative split in TMM 2018! He would like to use this skill to help fellow runners achieve their goals.

Professionally, Dr. Vedang Murthy is an Oncologist (cancer specialist) at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, leading in cutting-edge treatment and research in cancer. Running helps him channelize his energies and remain positive at work. The joy of running for him is second only to his ability to help and guide cancer patients.

Vidhya is an explorer and a traveller so the road and she have been forever connected. Running for her is spiritual, it has taught her many tales about life and herself. In 2015, she did her first Marathon and when she was running on Peddar Road, she learnt the lesson of not giving up.

Vidhya’s journey with running has spanned for 6 years from local marathons to doing international marathons including world majors like Berlin, Chicago, New York and Amsterdam. The slopes always called her, and she has completed her first ultra-marathon at Comrades in 2017 in 11:37. Her PB for a marathon is 4:32 hour.

The resilience of the spirit over the limitation we draw have always challenged Vidhya to push limits. She is also a humble homemaker and a woman who shatters the myth of age, at 46 she is still reinventing herself.

Vidhya is a woman who believes in journeys and is also a great motivator. Join this bus if you wanna enjoy the experience learning something new about yourself and the road all the way to the finish line.

Strap up... this bus will change your perspective on running; it’s not about the clock ticking it’s about how you feel about yourself through this journey.

Dhiraj Shamji Dedhia 52-year-old runner or DD as he is fondly called, who over the last 8 years has done 37 Half Marathons PB: 1:54:54, 10 Full marathons PB: 4:20:30 in Chicago Marathon 2018.

He has also done 12 Ultra Marathons including Comrades 90k & Khardungla 72k, 6 Olympic Triathlons, 4 Half Iron Triathlons, 4 Duathlons, 2 BRM 200k, 1 Swimathon 5k and 3 Himalayan treks.

DD's running journey began at the age of 44 with zero backgrounds of any sports activity so he just decided to try something new and adventurous. He registered for his first event SCMM 2011 and which looked impossible at the start line, but he finished it under 2:30 and crossing that finish line was the turning point in his life and then he joined a training group to improve further and that journey continues . . .

After doing all these events, he has decided to give back to the running community, so he will start with pacing and in future, he wants to take part as a volunteer in the events. He is also a co-founder of Vagad Runner Group (VRG), a small Kutchi community group to encourage endurance and another sports activity.

By profession, Dhiraj is a sub-broker at Magnum Equity Broking Ltd and he finds similarities between Running and Investing, both require patience and long-term planning. Just like short-term investment is very risky, the same is in the endurance sports. One should gradually increase to run long distances like The Ultra marathon or Ironman. For the first 5 years, he did only Half Marathon and that's why he is injury free after 80+ events and this his priority is to remain injury free.

Dr.Nitin Balakrishna is an eye surgeon by profession, and a passionate runner by nature. He completed the 90 K Comrades in South Africa in 2018, in 11hrs 35mins. He has done many half marathons and a dozen full Marathons, and clocked 4hrs 30 mins in the 2018 Tata Mumbai Marathon. His Personal Best timing for a Full Marathon is 4hrs 16mins.

He has been a Podium Finisher having stood First in his age category at the 2018 edition of the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon.

Over these runs he has raised a significant amount of money for various charities.

Essentially a couch potato until 6-7 yrs ago, he was introduced to running by close friends, after which there has been no looking back. Running didn’t come naturally in his busy work schedule with surgeries starting as early as 8am. Even when it came to taking a plunge in registering for the comrades and a grueling training that followed, his busy schedule at the clinic remained the same. Beating the routine, he overcame the hurdle of monotony and discovered his passion for running which he fine tuned over the years. He firmly believes that Running is Meditation in Motion.

Unperturbed, calm and composed, hard working at the hind sight even when it came to his commitment to the sport!

This year he is pacing a 5hr:10 min bus.

He has always believed in motivating others to run and during every long run has made it a point to take along all slow runners with him.

Rest assured you will flying through with this bus with complete ease..Avid music lover, gets his love for music even while running (their group actually sang along while running the comrades too). Train hard. Run effortless…. it’s a race not end of the world is his mantra!!! Come join this bus!!

Chinmay Sengupta started running long distance in November 2012 at a young age of 52.5 years, with a simple motive of collecting one marathon medal. With the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM), 2013 scheduled barely 11 weeks away, he realized he needed professional training to accomplish his short-term goal. He enrolled with Striders Miles at their Shivaji Park Group, Mumbai and trained diligently. Before the SCMM, 2013, he ran his first timed 10k in 00:59:18. He completed SCMM 2013 Half Marathon in 02:16:03.

By now Chinmay had realized that running not only provided him sheer bliss and a sense of freedom accentuated by reliving childhood moments but also helped him shaping his thoughts and poetry on life through running in the most positive manner. And there was no looking back.

He went on to run a no. of half marathons in the next two years (including Satara Half Marathon, Thane Half Marathon and Dr. Ramani’s Goa Marathon) clocking his personal best timing of 02:03:16 in SCMM, 2014 and 02:01:45 in Dr. Ramani’s Goa Marathon, 2014 (not a timed event then).

In the initial two years of his running, Chinmay had discovered that he seemed to enjoy long distances over speed. It made him register for SCMM Full Marathon, 2015, which he completed in 04:58:18. Since then, he has run another 6 full marathons, 2 of them being Standard Chartered Marathon, Mumbai in 2016 and 2017 with his personal best timing of 04:45:20 in 2017. Remaining 4 include Amsterdam Marathon, 2015; Bhutan Marathon 2017; Vasai Virar Marathon, 2017; and TMM, 2018.

Chinmay’s passion for longer distances made him to dream to participate in the prestigious Comrades Marathon in South Africa. Soon after completing his first full marathon, Chinmay registered for Comrades Marathon, 2016 (Down run). He was one of the 69 successful Indian finishers. The challenges in the ‘Down’ and ‘Up’ runs are of varied kinds. Overjoyed with his first ultra-marathon completion, Chinmay registered for Comrades Marathon, 2017 (Up run) for a back-to-back performance and completed it along with other 86 Indians. In both 2016 and 2017 Comrades Marathon, he was the second oldest Indian to participate. The training for the Comrades Marathon is a grueling one, oftentimes practised on the hills. As a part of his training, Chinmay has also run 9 ultra-distances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He has also successfully completed Tata Ultra Marathon, 2018.

A multi-industry experienced senior professional for around 35 years, Chinmay led the operations of ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, the corporate social responsibility arm of ICICI Group. Chinmay’s work mainly involved running the operations of one of the largest skill development and livelihood initiative in the country which syncs perfectly with his passion to work for underprivileged in the development sector. After superannuation from ICICI Foundation, Chinmay currently consults in the space of corporate social responsibility with several leading organisations such as ICICI Foundation, K Raheja Corp etc.

Chinmay is a passionate advocate of joyful living and his interests span across healthy diet, cross training, reading, poetry, philosophy and spirituality.

Chinmay has benefitted a lot as a runner from the wisdom of fellow runners. He would like to continue that legacy with his fellow runners, especially the first-time full marathoners, to make their effort a meaningful and fulfilling one. He believes that with his spectrum of learning, he will be able to connect with fellow runners to experience an exciting and enjoyable Tata Mumbai Marathon, 2019.

Sandra Jacquet is a passionate runner who started out just six years ago. In this time, she has completed the South African Comrades 90K Marathon, Tata 50K Ultra Marathon, 6 full-marathons and numerous half-marathons and 10K runs. Her PB for the full marathon is 4:32:22.

Sandra's love for running started once her children began college and when she realised that her husband could make his own morning coffee. She joined a local running club and soon became its most ardent member - hardly missing a single running session. She credits the support she received at her running club for getting her through the sweltering summers and monsoon runs. She is a yoga enthusiast and a fervent believer in good nutrition.

All runners hoping to improve their previous times can run with her, confident in the knowledge that she will cross the finish line at 5:20, while making sure that all on her bus finish the run as well. Sandra decided to pace the TMM 2019 to encourage newer runners who would like to improve on their timing.

Sandra is a retired helicopter mum and when not running just concentrates on keeping the home fires burning.

Ganesh Dal is a 35-year old runner, who over the last 4 years, has completed Comrades2018 - 90kms, Mumbai 12 hrs. run, TataUltra2018 - 50kms, 3 Full Marathons and 10 half marathons.

Ganesh wasn’t as fit and lean as he looks now. He has worked on himself, trained hard to be his current healthy fit self from being a 95kg man. He resorted to running 4 years back to get rid of his back pain caused by his sedentary lifestyle and occupation hazard. Over time, he realized that running has not only helped him fight his back issues but also made him lot more happy and cheerful person. The morning fresh air and meeting like-minded passionate people was a good enough reason to hit the road while rest of the world was sleeping.

Ganesh would be pacing the 5:40 hour bus at the Mumbai Marathon 2019, and is looking forward to meeting you on this yet another memorable event.

Professionally, Ganesh is a Dentist who has expertise in dental implants with 13 years of practice in helping people smile with confidence.

Nikhil Kamat was first introduced to running in 2006 when he was working for Tata Consultancy Services. His first run was the “Dream Run” in 2006 Mumbai Marathon. Thereafter it was a long hiatus until mid of 2015 when he stumbled upon a veteran super-fit recreational athlete who looked much younger than him. That was the trigger for him to have a serious relook at his lifestyle. After some “get out of the bed and run a half marathon “kind of attempts he decided to bring a structure to his running by joining motiv8 coaching in October 2015.

In the past three years of structured running, Nikhil has completed Comrades ultra-marathon in 2017 and 2018, 3 full marathons and a dozen half marathons. His personal best full marathon timing is 4:22: 43 at TMM 2018.

Running marathons has helped Nikhil to not only channelize his passion and energy but also taught him patience and perseverance as well as honed his strategy skills.

During his first ultra-marathon, he and his fellow teammate ran for the entire distance together. That was in a true sense reflection of the word “Comrades”. During his second ultra-marathon, he stuck with a pacing bus for the last two legs. The pacer ensured before time completion for Nikhil. Looking back at both these ultra-marathons and the purpose – trust, selflessness, commitment and courage, Nikhil felt an urge to help runners complete TMM marathon under 5 hrs. and 30 mins. For some of the runners it will be the first one and for some a PB effort, the purpose is to cherish the moment of running a marathon, enjoy the run, learn the art of pacing, use the learnings to become a good runner and a better human being as one famous tagline says, “It will humble you”!

Professionally, Nikhil manages the SAP Ariba partner ecosystem at SAP India Pvt. Ltd and applies all his marathon learnings on the job.

Anant Purav currently at 56 years is very passionate about running. Anant started his running activity at the age of 50 and in last 6 years, he has completed 6 full marathons and 28 half marathons. Anant has also completed prestigious Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 2017, at Comrades he has covered 89 Km. under 12 hours.

Anant started his running training with TOP GEAR MIG and till date continues to be associated with them. Anant has been grateful to TOP GEAR coaches for the training and guidance he has been receiving from time to time. Morning strengthening training and Running helps Anant to remain energized for the entire day. Anant has kept his running passion going strong against all medical odd when he was diagnosed with 2 blockages in the heart in 2014 and had to undergo spine surgery in 2015. Anant is a great inspiration for the new as well as experienced runners.

Anant is a successful Garment Accessories businessman for last 22 years.

Dr. Pooja Nadkarni Singh is a 38-year-old doctor and marathon runner from Surat.

She has been running since the last 6 years in that time she has completed 20 Full Marathons, 1 Half Ironman, 1 Comrades Marathon and numerous Half Marathons.

Her running journey started with the aim for better fitness and better mental fitness. She is a very busy gynaecologist and own 2 hospitals, along with that a family with three kids meant very little me time.

Running was the ideal activity to keep herself fit and make her mentally stronger.

Over the years, she has enjoyed the numerous hours of training and discipline required to crack these long distances.

She has benefitted from the running community, found and made some excellent friends in these busy times.

Her personal best in a full marathon is 4:45 hour. She runs a small running group called Joggers Gang in Surat where she motivates other women to take up running as a recreation sport.

By profession, Dr. Pooja is one of the leading Gynaecologist and IVF Specialist of Western India and owns 21st Century Hospital and IVF Centre and NIMAAYA women’s Centre for health.