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| Marathoner Padha adds another feather to his cap | | Runs Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 | | KUNAL SHRIVATSA
JAMMU, Jan 21: Adding another feather to his cap, the Marathoner- Rajesh Padha for the first time in his career ran full marathon when he took part in the eleventh edition of Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 held on January 19 at Mumbai and completed the run with a good rank amongst his category.
Taking part in the 'Senior Veteran' category of 42-Kms long marathon, Padha clocked 4:42:45 at an average speed of 8.95 kmph.
He achieved 26th rank under his category while his gender rank was 937 and his overall ranking was 989 among thousands of participants.
Following the footsteps of his father, Padha's son Mrigank Upadhyay, who has taken up running passionately for the past some time, also participated in the marathon and completed the run with a timing of 4:39:27.
Speaking to Early Times, Padha shared his experience of taking part in one of the world's top ten marathons.
"The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 was definitely a joyride ….. It was a lifetime experience while running on Worli- Bandra Sea Link under the shining sun," Padha said.
"The running conditions were ideal… The race started at 5:40 A.M in the morning and weather at that time was close to perfect… The weather infact was cold which is quite rare in Mumbai….
Though by the time the clock touched 9:30 A.M we did feel the heat but by that time we were done with most part of our run," he added.
He informed that the eleventh edition of Asia's biggest annual marathon witnessed the participation of around thirty five thousand people across all streams.
He said that the roads of the 'city of dreams' wore a festive look with people lining up on both sides of the racing route cheering runners with exuberance.
"Mumbaikars were more than supportive…The people were really nice and warm. It's not very often you see people stepping out of their houses just cheer the runners on the road. They gave us biscuits, chocolates, energy drinks, juices, fruits, dates and toffees…. Mumbai is known for its community spirit and I surely felt the warmth of its people," he said.
"I would like to salute the spirit of Mumbai for making the run successful…. The volunteers did a fantastic job too… Hats off to them," he added.
Padha's next target is now taking part in 50 Kms Ultra Marathon to be held in the year end at Bengaluru, Karnatka.
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