The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons by

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...

), is an annual international

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

held in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as the largest mass participation sporting event on the continent. It is the richest race in India with a prize pool of US$405000. The Mumbai Marathon has six different race categories:

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

(42.195 km),

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

(21.097 km), Dream Run (6 km), Senior Citizens' Run (4.3 km), Champions with Disability (2.4 km), and a Open 10K. The course records set in 2013 were the fastest times ever run for a marathon in India in the women's marathon category – 2:24:33 by the women's winner Valentine Kipketer,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. In 2020, Derara Hurisa broke the men's marathon record, completing the race in 2:08:09. In 2023, 2 new course records were set. For the men's, Hayle Lemi set a new record of 2:07:32 as the marathon's winner. For the women's, Anchialem Haymanot set a new record of 2:24:15 as the marathon's winner. The event helped bridge the gap between Indian elite athletes and the international elite. Indian runner Ram Singh Yadav qualified for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

with his best marathon time of 2:16:59 at the 2012 edition. It was not held for two years in 2021 and 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following edition was held on 15 January 2023.

History

Inspired by the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

, Procam International believed that Mumbai would support such a road race. The first event was held in 2004, titled as the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon.

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...

continued as the event's title sponsor for 14 years up until 2017. In 2018, the

and

Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in information technology services and consulting. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 ...

replaced Standard Chartered as the Marathon sponsor for a period of 10 years. In 2005, Mumbai Marathon was included as one of the legs of "The Greatest Race on Earth", sponsored by Standard Chartered. The other three legs of this four-marathon race were the Singapore Marathon, the

Nairobi Marathon The Nairobi Marathon is an annual road running competition over the marathon distance usually held in October in Nairobi, Kenya. First held in 2003, the competition expanded and now includes a half marathon race along with the main race. It was ...

and the

Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (), sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held. Around 70,000 runners t ...

, which were all sponsored by the Bank as well. The race became an

IAAF Silver Label Road Race World Athletics Label Road Races are races that World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of the IAAF R ...

in 2009. The IAAF elevated the race to an IAAF Gold Label Road Race in 2010, which was taken away in 2013 remaining unlabelled until 2018 when the Silver Label was awarded. The 2019 edition was classified as a Gold Label again.

Inspiration Medal

The inspiration medal is an award that started in 2018, when Tata Group took control of the event. The initiative was to increase participation and encourage marathoners to complete the marathon run (42 km).The medal has two sides, and it reads the finisher on one side and the inspiration on the other. Hence, it helps to share the joy of winning with their inspiration.

Organization

Mumbai Marathon is the property of Procam International Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based sports management company. Procam International also owns other road races in India such as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bangalore, and Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata.

The Race

The six categories cater to different participants. They are the Marathon (42.195 km), Half Marathon (21.097 km), Dream Run (6 km), Senior Citizens Event (4.3 km), and Champions with Disability Event (2.4 km). The Open 10K has been introduced from the 2018 edition of the Mumbai Marathon. The marathon starts opposite

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), also known sometimes as Victoria Terminus (VT), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The ter ...

Mumbai. It passes many of the city's iconic locations such as Flora Fountain, Marine Drive, Chowpatty, Haji Ali, Mahim Church, and the

Bandra–Worli Sea Link The Bandra–Worli Sea Link (officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link) is a 5.6 km long, 8-lane wide cable-stayed bridge that links Bandra in the Western Suburbs (Mumbai), Western Suburbs of Mumbai with Worli in South Mumbai. It is the second ...

. The London marathon winner and the secretary of the

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of the organisers of long-distance road running races. It was founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors. Its membership wa ...

, Hugh Jones, is the race director.

Winners

Key:

Multiple wins

By country

Charity

The Mumbai Marathon is India's largest charity platform for

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s to raise funds.

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s represent causes such as arts, culture and sports, civic and community development, disability, education, environment and wildlife, health, human rights, social services, vocational training, and women, children and the aged. Organizations register with the Event's official Philanthropy Partner, United Way Mumbai. Some NGOs used this event as a platform to raise awareness for their work, and some to directly raise funds. Fundraising is facilitated by an easy-to-use model designed for all groups to raise funds. Over ₹1.9 billion (US$29 million) has been raised from year 2004 to year 2017. The first race in 2004 had 22,000 participants and raised ₹14.4 million (US$269,000). Both the number of participants and amount of money raised rose drastically over the years with 30,000 people running in 2007 (₹79.4 million, US$1,490,000). The 2017 edition hosted 42,000 runners (₹329 million, US$5,087,761).

Dream Team

This special category is meant for highly motivated individuals who feel passionately about a cause and commit to raise a substantial sum of funds. Over the years, the Dream Team has seen a mix of business magnates, celebrities, socialites, NGO trustees and students. Levels include: * Dream Champion – minimum pledge of INR 1 million. * Dream Wizard – minimum pledge of INR 500,000 * Dream Maker – minimum pledge of INR 100,000

Corporate Challenge

The Corporate Challenge is a category for companies who wish to sponsor employee teams to participate in event and raise funds. 166 companies fielded 257 Corporate Challenge teams at Mumbai Marathon 2013.

Philanthropy Partner

United Way Mumbai is Mumbai Marathon's Philanthropy Partner. UWM assumes the role of a "Philanthropy Exchange" for charities and non-profit organizations that register with the Event. The Philanthropy Partner's roles are to: * Facilitate & supplement pledge raising efforts of individuals, companies and NGOs. * Create, build and communicate the Charity Structure. * Work on all aspects of Charity like registrations, race day logistics, communications and receiving donations. * Accounting & reconciling of Pledges. * Disbursement of funds to beneficiary NGOs. * 80G receipts to all donors. UWM maintains neutrality and ensures a level playing field among all participating NGOs. UWM also serves as an assurance to the donor that the NGO and the cause for which money is being donated are credible.

Flame of Marathon

Mumbai Marathon was the youngest marathon to be awarded the "Flame of the Marathon". It was flown in from Greece by Maria Polyzou, Greek Marathon Champion and Director of the Museum of Marathon Runs. They were received by then Mayor of Mumbai Smt. Shraddha Jadhav at

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is the international airport serving Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the second-busiest airport in India in terms of total and international passenger traffic a ...

. The flame was carried by sports luminaries, celebrities, sponsors/partners and dignitaries from the government in a flame relay to the Hutatma Chowk in Fountain, Mumbai. The participants of the torch relay were celebrities including

Priya Dutt Priya Dutt Roncon (born 28 August 1966) is an Indian people, Indian politician and social worker. She was elected for the first time to the 14th Lok Sabha from Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency), Mumbai North West constituency in Mahara ...

, Jaspal Bindra,

Rahul Bose Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor and athlete who works in Hindi films. Bose is the president of Rugby India. He has appeared in Bengali films such as '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'', '' Kalpurush'', '' Anuranan'', '' Antaheen'', ''L ...

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...

, Shobha De,

Milind Soman Milind Usha Soman (born 4 November 1965) is an Indian actor, model, film producer, and fitness enthusiast. He rose to fame in the year 1995, when he got featured in Alisha Chinai's music video, '' Made in India''. The same year, he made his deb ...

, Dhanraj Pillay and Kiran More.

Trophy

To commemorate Mumbai Marathon's 10th edition, a rolling trophy was instituted, to be handed over to the men's and women's marathon champions. The trophy was unveiled by Shri K. Sankaranarayanan, (then) Governor of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. The trophy was designed by artist and sculptor Shri Paresh Maity.

Event Ambassadors

The international ambassadors for the Mumbai Marathon have been: * 2004— Michael Duane Johnson * 2005—

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long-distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metre ...

* 2006— Anju Bobby George,

Linford Christie Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former Sprint (running), sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes ...

* 2007— Dame Kelly Holmes,

Aravinda De Silva Deshabandu Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva (, ; born 17 October 1965) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain, regarded as one of the best Sri Lankan cricketers, he played in the team as an all-rounder. De Silva was a key member of the Sri L ...

* 2008—

Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo (, ; born 14 November 1975) is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal. Szabo is a three-time world champion. She was nam ...

* 2009—

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was ...

* 2010— Daniel O'Brien * 2011— Catherine Freeman * 2012—

Vijay Amritraj Vijay Amritraj (; born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the government of India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 1983. In 2022, ...

* 2013—

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie (; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian former Long-distance running, long-distance track running, track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Athletics Championships, World Cha ...

* 2014—

Damon Hill Damon Graham Devereux Hill (born 17 September 1960) is an English former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 22 Grands Prix acr ...

* 2015—

Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title, after previously being runner-up in 2007 Wimbledo ...

* 2016—

Edwin Moses Edwin Corley Moses (born August 31, 1955) is an Americans, American former Hurdling, hurdler who won gold medals in the 400 metres hurdles, 400 m hurdles at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 an ...

* 2017—

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

* 2018—

Sergey Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka (; ''Serhiy Nazarovych Bubka''; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by '' Track & Field News ...

* 2019—

Mary Kom Mangte Chungneijang "Mary" Kom (born 24 November 1982) is an Indian Amateur boxing, Olympic boxer, politician, and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Member of Rajya Sabha. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Champions ...

* 2020—

Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1992 Summer Olympics all-around silver medallist, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan ...

* 2023—

Yohan Blake Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100 metres, 100-metre and 200 metres, 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ...

Sponsors/partners

* Title sponsor: Tata * Co Title sponsor:

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian multinational technology company specializing in information technology services and consulting. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 locations across 46 count ...

* Associate sponsor:

IDFC FIRST Bank IDFC First Bank (stylised as IDFC FIRST Bank) is an Indian private sector bank based in Mumbai. Founded in 2015 as a banking subsidiary of IDFC Limited, it shifted focus from infrastructure financing to retail banking after its 2018 merger with ...

* Sports Goods partner: Asics * Hydration partner:

Bisleri Bisleri International (formerly Parle Exports and Parle Bisleri) is an Indian multinational company which is best known for the eponymous brand of bottled water. The company was started in the 1970s by Ramesh Chauhan, and sells bottled water a ...

* Electric two wheeler partner: VIDA * Energy Drink partner: Fast&Up * Social Connect partner:

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...

* Hospitality partner:

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

* Print partner:

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

* Radio partner:

Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...

* Telecast partner: Sony Sports * Medical Partner:

Asian Heart Institute Asian Heart Institute is a cardiology and cardiac surgery hospital in Mumbai, India, which was founded in 2002 by Ramakanta Panda. Over the last two decades, Asian Heart Institute has treated more than 450,000 patients. Notable cases Some ...

* Philanthropy partner
United Way Mumbai
* Institution Partner
Adhata
* CWD facilitator: Adapt * Inclusion Ally
ABBF
* Promoted By
Procam
* Supported by: Government of Maharashtra, M.C.G.M, Indian Navy * Under the aegis of: Athletics Federation of India * Certified by: AIMS

References

External links

Running Races in India

2009 Mumbai Marathon in Photos

Mumbai Marathon Anthem Release
{{IAAF Road Race Label Events Marathons in India Recurring sporting events established in 2004 Sports competitions in Mumbai Standard Chartered Annual sporting events in India 2004 establishments in Maharashtra