5 best marathons in India

Leh
“The ZENdurance Leh marathon at Nubra Valley, held in July, is scenic and amazingly beautiful,” says Pankti Gosar, who has been running for about 8 years now. You can choose to run for 5, 21, 42 or even 100 km. The weather though cold is bearable, and you need to be prepared for unexpected sandstorms and rain. You will need at least seven days to acclimatize, so plan accordingly. Visits to the stunnning Changla Pass and Pangong Lake will help you acclimatise as will stopping at Kar Dungla Pass (on the highest motorable road) on the way to the Nubra Valley.           

The Kaveri Trail Route 

Image by Srini Swaminathan

The Kaveri Trail Marathon, which runs along the river Kaveri, Srirangapatna and takes place in September, leads through a bird sanctuary. We're told that while the landscape is awesome, the flat muddy road is not much of a challenge, and while the half marathon run is pretty good; the loop takes most of the fun out of the full marathon, as full marathoners have had to run the loop twice in previous years.  

Auroville 

Image by Srini Swaminathan

The Auroville marathon, held every year on the first Sunday of February, comes highly recommended, perhaps because, “there's nothing commercial about it,” as Girish Mallya points out. “The local community does a great job of putting together this minimalist run. And if you are travelling with family, this is a great place to stay   the marathon.” Srini remarks about the multi-ethnic community that gathers along the trail to cheer you as you run through the forest. He tells us, “The organisers give every runner a small flashlight because it is dark when the run starts. Seeing 100s of flashlights in pitch dark route is a surreal experience!”.  “But you can trip and hurt yourself,” notes Bhaskar Desai.   

The Goa River Run 

Image by Srini Swaminathan

“You don't really need an excuse to go to Goa, but courtesy the Goa River Marathon, Vasco, which is otherwise just a trading town, sees a huge influx of tourists in November,” says Girish Mallya. The river route which runs along the Mandovi is gorgeous and if you're staying on, Baina beach which didn't have much of a reputation as recently as a decade ago, is worth visiting if you go by the recommendations of marathoners.                          

Hampi

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“When I run in a city, I usually run to finish quickly, but in Hampi, I truly enjoy the run. Here, as someone told me, 'you can travel from the1st century to the 14th, as you run',” says Ajay Reddy, founder of GoUnesco who started running in 2009 and has been organising various runs since 2010. The Hampi marathon in July has 5, 10 and 21 km editions, which start and end at the Hampi bazaar. Every kilometer of the trail offers new sights—monuments, rivers, boulders (typical of the Deccan plateau), streams, canals, lush green fields and village life. The terrain is mostly flat, except for the hilly section from the Hampi Bus stand to the Krishna Temple.   

Other Interesting Runs in India include: 
Mumbai – This makes for an interesting city run, especially since you're running over the Bandra-Worli Sealink, which is otherwise closed to pedestrians. 
Delhi – Offers the opportunity to run through Janpath, Rashtrapati Bhavan and other lovely green canopied roads in Lutyens' Delhi. 
Satara Hill Marathon – This is possibly the toughest hill marathon in existence. Though if you hate travelling by trains getting to the starting point can be a bit of a bother. 
Chennai – Chennai has a full marathon every December and several half marathons organised by various running groups that have grown in many neighborhoods.
Hyderabad – The flyovers and the heat make this one of the toughest city runs in India. 
Bangalore — The city has a midnight run to circumvent the traffic and the heat. 
Baroda – This is a typical city run. 
Kerala – Munnar to Thekkady – The 200 km, five-day ultra marathon, involves limited water and carrying your own food and survival gear. You cannot buy food along the way; so you better come prepared. 
Bombay Ultra — Go fast. Go Slow. All that matters in this race is how far you can go in 12 hours.   
Thane – Running along the wide Ghodbunder Road (which is basically a hilly ghat road), with backwaters on both sides makes this a beautiful run.  
Aarey Colony – This makes for a super forest run. 
Powai – The lake run is worth a try.  
Then there are also marathons in Vasai-Virar, Shimla-Darjeeling, Cochi, along the Mithi River and in Nashik.   

With inputs from Rama Sreekant