Planning to run the 2026 Mumbai Marathon? Sign up for this challenge to help you

Being an athlete in the financial capital means fitness goals and Excel sheets inadvertently cross paths at some point along the way ldquoWe would manually enter data from each runner into the sheet to keep track of who was leading our premarathon running challenges It was primitive and undoubtedly an ordealrdquo recalls Suraj Shetty of the Kalyan Dombivli Runners KDR group Ahead of the 2026 Tata Mumbai Marathon TMM the club has an lsquoapprsquosolutely ingenious prospect Lace up your running shoes log into an app and let the tech decide how well yoursquore training for the big dayA section of the underredevelopment appAn app developed by runners of the 3000strong group sits at the heart of KDR Rise mdash a threemonthlong virtual challenge that culminates with the TMM Unlike the manual system that relied solely on honesty and mutual trust the app synchronises with popular fitness platforms and devices like Strava and Garmin and fetches accurate data from the source ldquoEvery group has an assigned referee who shoulders the responsibility of maintaining transparencyrdquo Dombivlibased Shetty informs usMembers warm up near KDMC Garden before a runNikhil Dudwadkar a senior professional at a leading cybersecurity firm oversees the development of the app which will soon hit the Google Play Store on September 15 Under layers of tech speak hersquos just a runner trying to get fitter ldquoI was an athletic child But somewhere along the way work commitments took overrdquo the 49yearold rues A run at the 2011 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon now TMM came as a wakeup callldquoThe 5 km run is unique in the kind of participants that you meet there Yoursquoll see runners across age groups some fit as a fiddle others on their own journey There is active participation from the Persons with Disability PwD community as well It opened my eyes to the triviality of the excuses I was makingrdquo he sharesNikhil DudwadkarDudwadkar calls it meditative Shetty labels it a passion but we canrsquot help wondering how a beginner with no connections in running circles can avail of these benefits ldquoWe have a system where individuals can join solo and get sorted into groups based on their expertiserdquo Shetty informs Further categorised into Challenger for intermediates and Warrior for seasoned runners the app formulates challenges to fit the user ldquoWersquore also ensuring beginners donrsquot overdo it with a fiveday policy The challenges start at easy weekly goalsrdquo he addsWhile Dudwadkar can now boast of upgrading from his pivotal 5 km run to a full 42 km marathon last year the bar is set a tad higher by the grouprsquos veteran runners Fiftyfouryearold KR Krishnan lists seven full TMMs six Tata Ultramarathons and Navy Marathons as his credentials over a call with us ldquoThe best part about having a group is that we give each other pep talks and share tips along the way Irsquove seen new crops of young runners join us every year their enthusiasm is contagiousrdquo he chucklesSuraj ShettyWhile the challenge comes as good news for runnersrsquo circles theyrsquoll be running in circles in more ways than one One of the longest dedicated public tracks in the city is the newly opened Worli Sea Face promenade 5 km Even if runners from the farflung suburbs made the long trek to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli its running trail leading to Kanheri is hardly 6 km long ldquoItrsquos one of our biggest challenges Longdistance marathons that exceed 50 or even 100 km require uninterrupted training at a steady pace Wersquore training at the KDMC Garden and on 90 Feet Road in Dombivli with extra safety measures for now with the hope that things change for the better soonrdquo Shetty signs off GodspeedLog on to iKDR on Playstore kalyandombivli_runners on Instagram to sign upEmail kdrunnersgmailcom for queriesTips for beginnersDorsquosgtgt Wear bright or reflective clothing especially on early morning or evening runsgtgt Carry water or plan routes with hydration pointsgtgt Warm up and cool down before and after the runDontrsquosgtgt Avoid listening to loud music that drowns out traffic sounds on the rungtgt Comparison can kill your enthusiasm Run at your own pacegtgt Donrsquot ignore injuries