Mumbai Marathon 2018: Athletes slam organisers, call it 'difficult marathon'

Sportspersons step on to the field with an objective to better their previous performances.

Many professional athletes, including international and Indian, stepped on to the field with a similar agenda at the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday morning.

As the clocked ticked, the runners were in for a disappointment. The athletes complained of disturbances by fellow runners (participants dream run and half marathon) and lack of water facilities at different stages of the race.

The overall women's winner Amane Gobena of Ethiopia, who finished with timing of 2:25:49, was the first to slam the organisers.

"It was a quite difficult race as there were a lot of people (casual participants in other non-competitive events) on the road. It was difficult to concentrate," said Gobena at the post-event media conference.

Gobena finished first in 2:25:49 and was well ahead of defending champion Bornes Kitur of Kenya who clocked 2:28:48 to finish second.

"I had prepared very well for the race. We (She and Kitur) were together for the first 25 kms, and after 25 kms I knew I was going to win. At one point, I thought I will break the course record, but as I said there were a lot of people (on the road) and temperatures were also rising, So I had to slow down," said Gobena.

Gobena also expressed disappointment for not receiving water at three different stages of the race. "At 5, 15 and 30 km marks it was difficult to get water. There were many corners (due to construction work for Mumbai Metro)," she said.

Not just that, they were unhappy with unclear streets, thanks to metro construction work.

Bornes Kitur, who finished second, agreed with Gobena. "Construction work was a problem. "The last km was difficult as there were a lot of corners," said the Kenyan runner.