Aiming for a record in Mumbai marathon: Srinu Bugatha

This is the second time I’m participating in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. It is a prestigious event many elite athletes from around the globe voting for top honours. It is quite inspiring to meet top athletes from around the globe during this event and I can learn and understand their work ethics and discipline.
I participated in the Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2018 and came third. Gopi Thonakal was first, Nitendra Singh Rawat was second. Both of them are not participating in this edition of the event. I have been clocking good timings over the last few months and I’m confident that I will get a good result during this edition. My goal during the marathon will be to complete the course in 2 hours and 15 minutes. It would be great to beat the course record set by a fellow army man, Nitendra. If I win, my rankings will improve. It is one of the main reasons why I’m eager to participate.
Last October, I participated in a marathon in Delhi and won. My coach K.C Ramu told me that the Olympic trials are coming up and the TMM would be a good place to test and hone my skills. The course is 42 Km and my coach wants to see my timing. I started my training in November for this event. Every week I do between 140-160 kilometres.
I started running when I joined the army in 2010. Services coach Amrish Singh spotted me and then I started training at the Army Sports Institute and never looked back.
(THE WRITER IS THE LEADING FULL MARATHON INDIAN ELITE ATHLETE AT THE TMM 2020)