Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026

The Tata Mumbai Marathon was my first full marathon, and I arrived with more belief than preparation. My longest run had been 26 kilometres. Winter in Delhi had made training difficult, with the cold and air quality regularly keeping me indoors, but I trusted myself to go slowly and manage the distance. I reached Mumbai three days early, worked from a hotel near Malabar Hill and nearby cafés, and spent my evenings walking and running along Marine Drive.

My careful race-morning preparation immediately became its own problem. I took one gel an hour before the start, another fifteen minutes before it, and a third after only thirty-five minutes of running. Around the seventh kilometre, I vomited so badly that other runners stopped to check on me. I walked for a while and, somehow, felt normal again by kilometre eight. From there I returned to the original plan: roughly six-minute kilometres, with a short hundred-metre walk every kilometre or two to preserve enough energy for the full distance.

The 2026 course started at CSMT and introduced the Coastal Road alongside the Bandra–Worli Sea Link. Running above the water with the Arabian Sea and Mumbai skyline beside me felt surreal; through the first half I took pictures, recorded videos, and enjoyed almost every step. The return through Pedder Road brought crowds, witty signs, fruit, snacks, flyovers, and hundreds of people willing strangers forward. At kilometre 32, back on the exposed coastal stretch, the race changed. It was around 8:30, the sun was fully up, and without the shade of the city buildings I needed longer walk breaks. By kilometre 38, the marathon had become a countdown. I carried the final four kilometres back towards Marine Drive one painful step at a time and crossed the line completely exhausted and immensely proud.

The day was held together by people I had not expected to meet. An influencer saw me failing to find a cab before the race and gave me a lift to the start. After the finish, I shared a cab with another runner who turned out to be staying in the same hotel, in the room next to mine; we became friends and later met again in Dehradun. I also kept recognising runners from Delhi whom I had seen around Nehru Park. My first marathon gave me the distance I had come for, but Mumbai gave me far more company along the way.