150km run in 24 hours Sikkim marathon man

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Jun 20, 2018 , Gangtok: Amar Subba, Sikkim's Marathon Man, has added another feather to his cap by finishing third in a 24-hour run in Mumbai over the weekend.

The 50-year-old covered 152.8km in 24 hours of almost non-stop running, 12km short of the winner, Narendra Ram of Delhi, who covered 164.8km in the same time. Navin Pant of Mumbai with 162km was the first runner-up.

Long-distance runs are judged on the distance covered in a given time. In all, 47 runners from across the country took part in the Mumbai event.

Subba, who took to long-distance running after he crossed 40, has taken part in a number of ultra marathons, both in the country and abroad. He had stood tenth in a 12-hour run in Hyderabad last month.

"I could have done much better but for an ankle injury in the first five hours of the run (in Mumbai). My target was to cover at least 160km. It was only because of my fast running in the last hour that I could pip the runner who stood fourth," Subba told reporters in Gangtok on Tuesday.

The weather was a challenge, too. "The weather in Mumbai was very humid. The good thing, though, was that it rained intermittently throughout the run," said Subba.