Ketan Abhonkar, gears up to attempt a National Joggling record at Tata Mumbai Marathon. |
Pune’s renowned marathoner and joggling enthusiast, Ketan Abhonkar, gears up to attempt a National Joggling Record in the upcoming Tata Mumbai Marathon, scheduled for January 19. Known for his endurance and creativity, Abhonkar will showcase the sport of joggling, where participants run while juggling three balls continuously, a rare and challenging combination of physical and mental skill.
Abhonkar, who has previously completed numerous prestigious races like the Tata Mumbai Half Marathon, Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Satara Hill Half Marathon, Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata and Pune International Marathon, is a prominent advocate for joggling in India.
This year, he will attempt joggling over the full marathon distance of 42.195 km, marking his first such endeavor at the event. In 2024, Abhonkar impressed audiences by completing the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon and Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata while joggling. He is currently on track to achieve the Procam Slam, with plans to complete the TMM 2025 and the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2025.
Adding to his accolades, Abhonkar was awarded the prestigious “Joggler of the Year 2024” title by the global Joggler’s World community.
227 Runners part of Legends Club
The Tata Mumbai Marathon Legends Club unites all accomplished runners who have participated in the Mumbai Marathon 10 times or more, with all Full Marathon completions up to the 20th Edition of TMM. Those who complete their 10th Marathon at the 20th or the subsequent editions will be added to the Club subject to its rules and regulations.
The Tata Mumbai Marathon Legends Club boasts 227 members, including 81 across India. For the 20th edition, 146 Mumbai runners of the Legends Club are set to participate in the full marathon. Among the Legends, there are 8 women-5 local and 3 outstation runners.
Notably, Parmesh Ohri, aged 32, is the youngest local runner, having completed 12 marathons, while Kishlay Vatsyayan, aged 36, is the youngest outstation runner in the Legends Club. The oldest Full Marathoner in TMM Legend’s Club is 71-year-old Ashok Joshi from Pune, participating in his 12th marathon.
In the women’s category, Mumbai’s Neepa Sheth and Vineeta Singh have completed 15 and 13 marathons, respectively. Additionally, Mumbai’s Shibani Singh, Kranti Salvi, and Khushboo Vaish, along with Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar’s Charusheela Deshmukh, Gurgaon’s Aparna Choudhary, and Bengaluru’s Nirupama Singh, have each completed 10 marathons.
Durgesh & Khushboo duo to run full marathon at Tata Mumbai Marathon. |
Durgesh & Khushboo duo to run full marathon
Durgesh was the youngest to complete 10 full Mumbai Marathons back in 2017. With over 15 years of dedication, he holds one of the longest dual continuous running streaks at India’s largest full marathon (Mumbai) and half marathon (Delhi).
And what could be better than having a competition right at home? Quite literally! Starting in 2010, his wife, Khushboo, has matched him stride for stride—not just in Mumbai (10+ full marathons) and Delhi (12+ half marathons) but also in ultra-runs across the globe.
Beyond being TMM legends, the couple also excels professionally. Durgesh, an IIT Bombay-IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, holds a leadership position at Reliance Industries, while Khushboo, an IIT Kanpur-IIM Calcutta graduate, is a leader at the Tata Group.
