Indian elite runners in the men's full marathon — Lyngkhoi Binning, Ram Singh Yadav and Angad Kumar — are targeting 2:18 against an elite international field at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2011, to be held here on Sunday.
“We have been training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune for this event and our target time is 2:18, which is supposed to be the qualifying time for the 2012 London Olympics,” said Binning, the winner among Indian athletes in 2010 clocking 2:20:12 and 11th overall.
Ram Singh Yadav, second-placed among Indians, is recovering from a hamstring strain. Yadav said: “I have recovered from the hamstring problem and feel fit to run.”
A separate prize fund for Indian athletes in full and half marathon is the incentive for these runners. The best Indian finisher in men and women full marathon will earn $6,500 and the best Indians in half-marathon will get $ 2,000 each.
Two-time men's winner John Kelai is back to run along the seafront. “It's great to be back home,” said the Kenyan. Shami Mubarak, another Kenyan-born and running for Qatar, is looking forward to the experience.
The men's and women's winners among the elite athletes stand to win $36,000.
