Kartik Jayaraj Karkera from Mumbai claimed the title of the full marathon (42.195 km) at the 9th National and 14th State-Level ‘Nashik MVP Marathon 2025’, hosted by the Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj (MVPS) on Sunday, Jan 12. Kartik set a new record with a time of 2 hours 20 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 2 hours 22 minutes 33 seconds held by Karan Singh (Haryana) in the 2018 edition of the marathon.
The competition commenced at 5.45am in the cold, with over 4,000 participants, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens, competing across 14 different categories.
Participation and enthusiasm
More than 4,000 participants from across Maharashtra and other states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Meghalaya competed. School students added energy to the event with colourful costumes and cultural programmes in the Raosaheb Thorat Auditorium area.
The event was inaugurated by dignitaries including Olympian Renuka Yadav, Nitin Thackeray, Balasaheb Kshirsagar, and others.
Highlights of the full marathon:
• First Place: Kartik Jayaraj Karkera (Mumbai) – ₹1,51,000 prize
• Second Place: Sikander Chindhu Tadakhe (Dindori, Nashik) – ₹1,00,000 prize
• Third Place: Vikram Bharatsinh Bangaria (Wardha, Maharashtra) – ₹75,000 prize
Sikander Tadakhe improved his performance from last year, finishing 6 minutes and 21 seconds faster.
Category-wise first-place winners:
1. 42.195 km Full Marathon: Kartik Jayaraj Karkera, Mumbai (64)
2. 21 km Half Marathon: Harish Sharon, Haryana (106)
3. 10 km Women’s Open: Jyoti Manohar Saroj, Nashik (50)
4. 10 km Men’s Open: Atul Shantaram Barde, Nashik (239)
5. 12 km Boys Under 25: Kartikkumar Chamruji Kariharpal, Nashik (209)
6. 6 km Girls Under 25: Pooja Prabhakar Pardhi, Nashik (168)
7. 10 km Boys Under 19: Rishikesh Vithoba Vavare, Nashik (230)
8. 5 km Girls Under 19: Poonam Vishnu Shevare, Nashik (131)
9. 5 km Boys Under 17: Kunal Laxman Brahmane, Nashik (602)
10. 4 km Girls Under 17: Riddhima Naresh Mehta, Nashik (364)
11. 4 km Boys Under 14: Chaitanya Krishna Shrikhande, Sambhaji Nagar (482)
12. 3 km Girls Under 14: Shweta Vijay Sadgir, Nashik (330)
13. 4 km Men Above 60: Keshav Manikrao Mote, Nashik (50)
14. 5 km Women Above 35: Rishika Bharatkumar Patel, Nashik (55)
15. 2 km Open Fun Run: 364 participants (Focused on health and social issues)
