Indian Army's Elam Singh, who will run in the Elite category, rues lack of pacesetter; says it will be tough to maintain timing and rhythm
Indian elite runners (left to right) Tsetan Dolkar, Jigmet Dolma, Jyoti Gawte, Kheta Ram, Elam Singh and MD Yunas during a media interaction at the 2017 Mumbai Marathon’s media centre yesterday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
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Army Sports Institute's (ASI, Pune) Elam Singh, who clocked his personal best timing of 2:18:27 at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon in 2012, finishing second, hopes to better his timing this time and win the Indian Elite Men's race tomorrow. The 35-year-old runner, who hails from Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand is aware that, unlike last year, the Army contingent will be without any pacesetter, which will be additional pressure on them.
"The advantage of a pacesetter is that he sets the pace for all the runners till the 30-km mark after which individuals run according to their timing. The last five to six kilometres are the toughest. If an athlete decides to finish in a particular time, the presence of a pacesetter takes the load off. Last year, we had Man Singh as the pacesetter, but this year we don't have any runner who could fit the role," said Elam. The 33-year-old felt that absence of a pacesetter will make it doubly challenging for him. "In order to win the race I need to maintain my timing at different distances. To personally check on the pace, timing and run, it becomes a bit difficult," added the former steeplechase national champion, who switched to running marathons.
After Mumbai, Elam is aiming to qualify for the London World Championships in August. "I missed out on the Rio Olympics, but I would surely want to qualify for the Tokyo Games. I don't think age is an issue," Singh explained.
'Dhoni' to run too
Of the many runners, there is a 'Dhoni' too who will run the 42km distance. But hold it right there. It's not former India cricket captain MS Dhoni, but Bahadur Singh Dhoni who will hit the Mumbai roads to give tough competition to the rest of the Elite runners.
In Elite company
Hailing from Ladakh, Tsetan Dolkar and Jigmet Dolma, who used to run in the Open category till last year, will stretch themselves this time when both will sweat it out in the Elite category. They are nervous, but happy that regular runners Lalita Babar, OP Jaisha and Sudha Singh and Kavita Raut have decided to give the event a skip.
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