It was finally over. The expression and body language shown by TK Pandya at the end of his 42km run at the Mumbai Marathon said it all.
It was finally over. The expression and body language shown by TK Pandya at the end of his 42km run at the Mumbai Marathon said it all.
Volunteers and officials at the finish line clapped for the 72-year-old whose shirt was drenched in sweat. Pandya clocked six hours, 51 minutes and 23 seconds to end up as the last person to be clocked at the Mumbai marathon, about four hours and 41 minutes after the elite winner Tesfaye Abera from Ethiopia breasted the tape.
Pandya did finish last. But going by the adulation he received from the officials and fellow racers as he crossed the finish line, Pandya did have the feeling of a winner.
"I may have been the last one to be clocked but completing the course and getting a timing certificate along with a medal is my victory. I can go home with my head held high. I rather finish last than not finish the race at all.
Quitting is the easiest thing to do. Fine, it did take a lot of time but I did complete it. I knew that I had to finish it, no matter how much time it took," said the resident of New Delhi. He trained under the Reebok programme in New Delhi for three months ahead of Sunday's race.
Pandya knew that there was no one after him. But he had no idea about his finishing time as he had left his phone behind with his wife. "It's six hours, 51 minutes and 23 seconds" was the first thing his wife Sucheta said over the phone when contacted. "Those three months of training meant so much to him. It would have counted for nothing if he just decided to quit the race. As a gift, our elder son booked a room at the Taj hotel in Colaba. That's how badly he wanted to run in Mumbai."
This wasn't the first marathon Pandya has run. The grandfather of three has taken part in the last four editions of the Delhi Marathon (21 kms). "I wanted to do something different this time round. I felt that this would be the year to make the next step. As far as today's race was concerned, it got very hot as the day progressed. Another area which led to me taking longer was the elevated roads as compared to back home in Delhi where you see flat roads. The real challenge for me today started after the 30km mark. After that, I started to slow down and wanted to avoid cramps," said Pandya, who was making his maiden appearance at the Mumbai marathon.
"I loved the sea link. Also, the cheers from the bystanders give one a new gear because physically you might have given up. But seeing the energy around is perhaps what made me going all the way," said the avid tennis player and swimmer.
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