Virtual marathon: When every mile is worth the while

In the early days of the lockdown back in March, Coimbatore-based P Chandramohan would get up in the morning, put on his running shoes and go to the terrace of his house. Down below in their bedroom, his wife would wake up to the pounding of his footsteps.

“My terrace is around 60 feet long. I have to run 100 laps to complete 2 km.” That is how Chandramohan, who took to running marathons after retirement, kept himself fit during the lockdown and even participated in a few events, albeit virtually.

The 69-year-old former general manager of a private engineering firm has participated in 40 full marathons so far in a period of nine years. During the lockdown, he says he ran in eight virtual events.

“I managed to participate in marathons held in San Francisco, Mexico and Berlin as well. I would not have been able to attend these events without the virtual option,” he says.

Chandramohan says it’s not always possible for him to travel around for marathons leaving his wife behind all alone. “Also, if we have to be present at particular venues, it requires a lot of money—from flight tickets to hotel rooms etc. Moreover, it always feels more safe and comfortable to run in a place you know so well.”

Veteran athlete Vasantha Samuel, who is in her 80s, couldn’t agree more. “People like me (senior citizens) are more vulnerable to the virus. But at the same time, you can’t hold back a runner and keep them confined to the house. So, it is much easier to run in my own city rather than risking my life by travelling and participating in a marathon and running in groups,” she says.

Samuel, a Coimbatore-based homeopath, made headlines in 2017 after she was selected to represent India at the XX Asian Masters’ Athletics’ Championship in China. She won three medals—one gold and two silver—in the category of athletes above 80 years.

But the octogenarian, who last participated in a competitive race in February 2018, feels the virtual experience can never match the real. “It can’t give you the same feeling and adrenaline rush like a competitive event.”

Get set, go

As the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a ‘standstill’ with mass-participation events either postponed or cancelled, organisers of prestigious marathons across the world decided to hold virtual marathons instead.

Runners now have the option to complete the race and submit online the time and route taken by them to claim a finisher’s medal. In a virtual race, participants will run the required distance remotely, wherever they are located in the world.

Interestingly, Chandramohan ran his first virtual marathon—the prestigious Tata Mumbai Marathon on January 19—much before the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

He discovered the option after a last-minute failure to book a flight ticket to the event. “All the flights were full. I was cursing myself how I could be so careless. Losing all hope, I rang the organisers to inform them that I won’t be able to take part in the event. That is when they gave me an option to participate in the marathon virtually from Coimbatore,” says Chandramohan.

जब हौसला हो बुलंद, तो मंज़िल की क्या फ़िक्र ।💯#TuesdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/NJbtljtaUt

— Tata Mumbai Marathon (@TataMumMarathon) September 8, 2020

They told him about the procedures and how to login into the app and register for a virtual marathon. “I was informed that there was a set window of time set forth by the race organisers and that the device would also show all the readings—how many kilometres I completed in how much time, etc.”

After that, all that Chandramohan had to do was to take a screenshot from his device and send it to the organisers.

He is now preparing for his favourite event of the year—the Coimbatore Marathon.

Smart run

The eighth edition of the Coimbatore Marathon will be a virtual month-long event first time since 2013 owing to the prevailing pandemic. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Run Smart’. The runners have to register online and could run at a place and time of their choice between December 1 and December 31.

But unlike Chandramohan, the virtual form doesn’t sound as exciting to everyone.

While a section of runners feel virtual marathons are safe and comfortable, a few others complain it does not give the feel of a marathon and they could not keep up the pace and maintain the timing while running alone.

Forty-seven-year-old A Kalaimani, who runs a tea shop along with her husband, is one of them. She feels that virtual marathons may ruin her goal of defending her own record by reducing her speed.

“Accessories to check the timing and all that is fine, but where is the spirit of competing when we are running all alone?” Kalaimani shrugs her shoulders.

While Kalaimani normally completes 21 kilometres in 2 hours and 10 minutes and 10 kilometres in 56 minutes, she is aiming to increase her speed. “I am trying to complete 21 kilometres in 1 hour and 50 minutes and 10 kilometres in 48 minutes. There is a marathon for women scheduled to take place in December and I am aiming for that marathon,” she adds.

Asked how different is a virtual marathon than the at-venue events, she says, “A virtual marathon may not be as exciting for professional runners. While running along with other participants, we know who is behind or running in front of us and can calculate the speed, which we won’t be able to keep track of in the virtual run,” she feels.

A Govindraj from Coimbatore has attempted the virtual marathon and, much like Kalaimani, feels the virtual form does not look like a competition.

आज #FitIndiaMovement के अंतर्गत इस उद्देश्यपूर्ण #VirtualMarathon का उद्घाटन करूँगा. नमन हमारे सजग @PMOIndia @narendramodi @KirenRijiju @dpradhanbjp जी को. Extremely glad to launch25th September 4.50PM. Stay tuned for registration details. Follow @yfs_official #FitIndia pic.twitter.com/7GiQ5inTWG

— Kailash Kher (@Kailashkher) September 25, 2020

“When we run in groups, there is a different feeling. More often than not, we end up cheering each other despite being competitors. And that’s the real spirit of a marathon. And then there is the audience to cheer for you. This is why so many times, we end up performing better during the marathon than during our practice sessions,” he says.

Chandramohan agrees with Govindraj on this. “While running a full marathon (42.2km), one must strive hard to run the first 35 kilometres, the rest of the distance gets covered with cheers from the audience. That’s especially true for the Mumbai Marathon, the entire city would be on the streets to support the runners. They even offer water, glucose, etc., to the fatigued runners and help them not give up on their last stretch.”

Organisers of the forthcoming Coimbatore Marathon, on the other hand, feel it is much easier to organise the virtual event.

“After running, the participants have to share the screenshots with us and a team of experts would analyse the authenticity and select the winners. The team would also check whether the person could run as many kilometres in as much time. Other readings include heart rate, etc.,” says Ramesh Ponnusami, director of Coimbatore Marathon.

Miles to go

Virtual marathon, he says, was the only option this year or else it would have required them to take a lot of risk, even if they could acquire permission to conduct the event.

But serious runners like Govindraj, who runs 20 km every day, feel the virtual form may open the floodgates for malpractice by some unscrupulous runners. “After all, there are a lot of people for whom marathon running is more of a fashion statement. Such people may even take their device on a bike and could drive them slowly to match with the running speed. How would anyone check that?”

But chances of that are zero while running at-venue marathons. “There are small chips fitted to the bibs and sensors placed at equal intervals. So, the sensors collect the details only when we cross them and we cannot cheat by taking a shortcut in the marathon route,” Govindraj says.

Ramesh admits that there are chances of malpractice. “But with the limited options available, we are organising it trusting the runners. Let’s hope the pandemic ends soon and people can run together in the race,” he says.

He adds he too will miss the ultimate adrenaline rush this December.

“The races are virtual, but the running is very much real.”