Vasai-Virar Marathon: Anish sets new half marathon mark

Men's half marathon champion Anish Thapa (centre) is flanked by silver medallist Tirtha Pun (left) and bronze winner Dinesh Kumar

Mohit Rathore won the full marathon, while armyman Anish Thapa set a new half marathon course record in the ninth Indiabulls Home Loans Vasai Virar Mayor's Marathon on Sunday.

Rathore, a 2017-runner up, was on track to set a new course record in the full marathon when he crossed the half-way mark, clocking 1:06. However, rising temperatures made him flag a bit in the second half, before finishing in 2:24.22, followed by Sukhdev Singh in 2:31.42 and Dharmender in 2:32.39.

Half marathon winner Anish Thapa breasted the tape in 1:04.37, shaving off 19 seconds from G Lakshmana's course record of 1:04.56 set in 2014. He later said he did not expect to break the course record. "I got into a good rhythm early and because of my fellow runners also pushing me throughout the race, I could maintain the pace," he said.

Thapa led Navy's Tirtha Pun and fellow Army runner Dinesh Kumar under the mark in the half marathon. Tirtha Pun clocked 1:04.42, while Dinesh Kumar followed him in 1:04.46.

The women's half marathon also saw some excellent performances. Kiran Sahdev from Railways took top spot, clocking 1:17.51, followed by Komal Jagdale (1:18.24) and Nandini Gupta (1:19.13).

Rs 2.5lakh
Full marathon champion Mohit Rathore's prize purse

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