Run India Run!

India is running and I mean it literally. Our country, traditionally known to be a nation of lazy people, is suddenly coming out of slumber and witnessing tremendous growth in the number of active joggers/runners, possibly faster than any other country in the world.

Unfortunately, there isn’t enough statistics available for the want of better research. But, guesstimates still provide more than enough evidence of an imminent ‘running revolution’ in India:

• # of formal running events (5K to Ultra Distance): 200+
• # of formal running groups: 1,000+
• # of active runners: 500,000+

The absolute numbers may not appear very staggering but throw in some context and the numbers would jump out.

• Back in 2004, when first edition of Mumbai Marathon was held, the number of running events in India could be counted with fingers. Today, at 200+ running events in a calendar year, India sees one running event every second day.
• New York Road Runners – possibly the world’s largest formal running group, started in 1958 and currently claims 40,000 members. India’s largest running group, Runner for Life (RFL) claims to have 13,000+ members and it is not even a decade old.
• Most other top marathons like NYC Marathon, Boston Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Paris Marathon etc. have a history of atleast 25 years. However, India’s marquee event, Mumbai Marathon, is just a decade old and already among the top 10 marathons in terms of participation and prize money. Mumbai Marathon in 2016 expects a staggering 45,000+ participants making it Asia’s largest running event.We can unearth many more such facts with a bit of research. All of it would suggest simply one thing. From a few 1,000s about a decade ago, the running community in India has metamorphosed into something really big. And, the best part is that we have just started. It is just a proverbial, tip of an iceberg.
• The participation of Indian runners in global marathons is steadily increasing. In 2009, the marquee Comrades Marathon had just 1 Indian participant, while in 2014 there were more than 40 participants. To say that the number of Indian participants at Boston, Paris, Berlin, Dubai etc is growing exponentially would be an understatement!

We can unearth many more such facts with a bit of research. All of it would suggest simply one thing. From a few 1,000s about a decade ago, the running community in India has metamorphosed into something really big. And, the best part is that we have just started. It is just a proverbial, tip of an iceberg.

It is estimated that about 10% of the population in USA actively runs or jogs. Imagine a similar or even half of running/jogging penetration in India, and those days are not too far. Like in many other segments, India will very soon be the largest running consumer market in the world.

But, is the market ready to service such phenomenal demand?The answer is No!

Except the likes of Nike, Adidas and Puma, most big running focused brands have absolutely no or limited presence in India. Serious runners in India still have to rely on Amazon US or ‘jugaad’ with friends/relatives in US/UK/Australia to get hold of their Mizunos, New Balances, Gu Gels, Garmins & many more.