The 7 Wonders of Ninjas × Wipro Bengaluru Marathon 2026

They say every race has a start line and a finish line.

What they conveniently leave out is what happens in between — the existential crises, abandoned PBs, questionable decision-making, conversations with God, and at least a few moments of “why the hell am I doing this?”

50+ Ninjas went in with different plans. Bengaluru, naturally, had plans of its own.

Some chased the clock. Some chased survival. Some chased the person in front of them. And then there were some who chased… absolutely nothing.

Here are the 7 Wonders of Ninjas × Wipro Bengaluru Marathon 2026.

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#1: The Wonder of the Wicked Hills

Imagine a girlfriend (sorry, girls!) blessed with multiple personalities, all rolled into one irresistible persona — attracting and repelling you in equal measure.

The Bengaluru Marathon course felt exactly like that. Ups and downs. Twists and turns. Sun and shade. Easy and hard. A truly pagla race course.

And if that wasn’t enough, heat and humidity barged in with a surprise cameo — that girlfriend ki annyoing dost!

The hills pestered everyone, but some Ninjas got reminded of their girlfriends a little more than others. Nikhil (HM, 1:45), Salil (HM, 2:10), Arnav (HM, 2:25), Aashu (HM, 1:42), Manas (HM, 1:53) and Kamal (HM, 1:55) all had their moments with the elevation. They described the course as deceptive, annoying, torturous and several other words that cannot be printed in a family-friendly race report.

I repeat — the course, and not the girlfriend.

Shilpi (HM, 1:57) disagrees, though. Wonder why? Please ask her.

I am just a race report writer…

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#2: The Wonder of the Comebacks

A lot of Ninjas came to this race looking to rediscover their running mojo.

Some were returning from forced breaks. Some simply hadn’t trained enough. And a few, frankly, were running on faith or bluntly put ‘no training,.

Manpreet (HM, 2:38) ran a half marathon after seven years. The nation wants to know what he was up to. The Ninja Council, meanwhile, would like him to socialise with the group a little more — and, of course, volunteer.

Then there was Debottam (HM, 2:13), back on the runs after a long break. The glamour quotient of Ninjas immediately went up a few notches.

Ramji (HM, 1:31) arrived with shallow preparation and still nailed a seriously solid time. He surprised himself. Nobody else was particularly surprised — we all knew he would land somewhere in the early 1:3X territory anyway.

Ravi (FM, 4:10) returned to the full marathon after his last one in early 2025. And he had the best pacer in the world for his final 6K — his daughter, Anvi. Anvi is a rockstar in the making. Autographs, please.

And then there was Gaurav J, back on the track more than a year after a scary finish-line episode at NDM 2024. Welcome back, G!

Ankit Goyal (HM, 2:28) – our very own Selfie/stick, also made a come back to racing HM, and has his eyes set on nailing PBs in the upcoming races.

Sometimes the comeback isn’t about the timing. Note this down this please – so what if I am just a race report writer…

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#3: The Wonder of the Firsts

It was heartening to see so many Ninjas discovering their firsts — and therefore, by definition, their default PBs. Speaking of firsts, please don’t get too creative here. We are well past the girlfriend/boyfriend topic!

Atharv (HM, 1:58) ran a solid first HM, but still found himself crying in the final 2K while cursing the cramps. He wanted dosa after the race. Irony died a thousand deaths — because people couldn’t even get water. Classic first-bencher stuff. And I suspect he is Gen-Z too.

Sumita (HM, 2:29), Jiten (HM, 2:13) and Susil (HM, 2:34) deserve a special mention. They ran their first official HMs and were kind enough to throw us a bhandara. They have therefore earned immunity from my trolling. For now!

Pavni (HM, 2:30) nailed a solid HM debut despite spending some time around 16K questioning her life choices. Welcome to the crazy world of running, Pavni. Even after a decade of running, for the most of us, sawaal aaj bhi wahi hai.

Lavanya (HM, 2:09) landed her first HM after what she described as a “real struggle”. I have only one piece of advice for her: Why suffer when you have help at home? Ramji — please take note.

Shikha Agarwal (HM, 3:14) also ran her first HM. I don’t know her well enough to troll her, so let’s just say she landed a good “pie” at the end of her HM.

And Binny (10K, 1:28) completed her first 10K — while also discovering that hydration and crowd management were apparently optional features of the event.

Congratulations to all the first-timers! And apologies if I missed a few more.

After all, I am just a race report writer…

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#4: The Wonder of Letting Go

Running is a performance sport. But sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is to Let Go.

Give up the PB. Give up the pace target. Give up the ego. And just finish the damn run.

Kamal and Salil gave up on their original race targets in the second half.

Debottam started like a bullet, only to realise that there was, rather inconveniently, a lot more distance left to run. He recalibrated, found a sustainable pace and switched from “race mode” to “let’s just get this done” mode.

Arnav was gunning for a PB but let go of the dream after 16K.

Abhishek Roy (HM, 1:45) and Aashu (HM, 1:42) started with dreams of sub-1:40. Somewhere in the middle of the race, those dreams were politely shown the exit.

Manas – our SRK, was on course for his PB untill the mid-way point, and then the hills and heat did him in. Bugger, still got some awesome race pics!

Sankalp (HM, 2:38) — our in-house drone — had a solid training block going until illness decided to make an appearance during race week.

And Tarun (HM, 2:19) had injuries derail his full-marathon training block, forcing him to switch down to the half.

To all the Ninjas who decided to let go — kudos.

Running is a long journey. There will be other races. Other finish lines. Other days when everything clicks. Sometimes, the smartest racing decision is knowing when today isn’t that day.

And, as one of our respected Members of Parliament once wisely said in a movie: “Abhi toh humein aur zaleel hona hai.” Guess the movie. Bonus points if you can name the actress.

And please don’t sock me for suddenly getting philosophical.

After all, I am just a race report writer…

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#5: The Wonder of Ninja Cheerleaders

This section is my personal favourite.

Because race results tell you who finished. They don’t tell you who helped you finish.

Kudos to Nirav, Sunil and Prashant for being full-time cheerleaders on the track. And then there was our rockstar Anvi, pacing Ravi through his final 6K.

Most Ninjas drew energy and inspiration from these folks. In moments of weakness, sometimes all you need is a familiar face shouting your name and saying a few words. That can be enough to get you to the next kilometre. And then the next. And finally, the finish line.

Sambi (HM, 2:11) found energy simply from seeing Ninjas along the course.

Lavanya described her encounters with Karuna, Vaidy, Prashant and Nirav as “glimmers”.

Debottam found himself lifted by Nirav and Sunil, and then again by Prashant.

Ravi had Anvi beside him for the final 6K.

And then there was Sibu (HM, 2:46). He had a solid first half, but around 15–16K, severe muscle pain hit. Mentally, he had already decided to pick up a DNF. But the Ninjas weren’t having any of it. Karuna (HM, 2:46) was out on an easy training run, saw Sibu struggling, pulled him along and ensured he crossed the finish line. She was kind enough to carry Sibu’s shoes too. One advice for Sibu – please learn how to tie your shoe laces properly; if only you had listened to your parents in your younger days!

The impact of cheerleading and community support doesn’t appear in the official results.

There is no column for: “How many Ninjas cheered you when you were struggling?”

Perhaps there should be. I went emo again. But who cares?

I am the race report writer…

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#6: The Wonder of the Mismanagement

Now this is a wonder. And frankly, not the kind of wonder anyone asked for.

How does a city’s marquee race run out of hydration mid-event? How does a race attract such a large crowd that, at various points, there is barely enough space to actually run?

Thanks to NEB Sports’ questionable execution, Bengaluru now has one more thing to add to its list of infrastructure problems: Poorly organised races.

Ganesan (HM, 2:32), Binny, Avinash (HM, 3:03), Abhishek Dwivedi (HM, 2:19), Kamal, Shikha Agarwal and Sachin Garg (FM, 5:51) — along with many others — were unhappy with the arrangements around hydration and toilets – and rightfully so.

And Jiten had to demonstrate some extraordinary gymnastic skills simply to retrieve his bag.

At this rate, perhaps our Ninja cheerleaders should also carry a few litres of water while cheering.

How about a dedicated Ninja Aid Station? Given the hydration crisis, it may actually be the most useful community initiative we launch this year. Any volunteers? Sachin Garg, Avinash, Seshchalla, and many other runners who have not yet volunteered, please make a note of this volunteering opportunity! All I can say is that the Big Boss is watching, please find a way out of the red list soon.

I have three things to offer the brave Ninjas who were impacted by the poor management:

1. Bade bade runs mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain

2. I have Nagaraj Adiga’s number. Ping me if you want to curse him directly,

3. As our Vishwaguru visionary leader has advised — or shall we say inspired us: Atmanirbhar bano.

I have personally seen worse events.

But runners are a special breed. We are naturally optimistic, relentlessly positive and, borderline insane. So, we will continue to register for races. We will continue to show up. And we will continue to hustle our way to the finish line – with or without hydration.

Now, please don’t come looking for me.

I am just a race report writer…

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#7: The Wonder of One Race, But 50+ Finish Lines

And finally, perhaps the greatest wonder of all.

One race. One course. One finish line. And somehow, 50+ completely different races.

Hiren finished his first official marathon faster than his previous 50K benchmark. Someone please ask Hiren why he decided to run a 50K before running a marathon. Runners are crazy, I tell you.

Kumar Madhav (HM, 1:48), Sudipta (HM, 1:54), and Ravin (HM, 1:48) picked up PBs despite the challenges of the course, the weather and everything else thrown at them. And that makes those PBs even sweeter.

Nikhil ran a steady HM and executed his target plan despite an energy crash brought on by the hills in the second half.

Hiral (HM, 2:29) ran an HM after a long gap. She wasn’t even sure she would run the event until race morning. I can’t say anything more here without exposing myself to serious personal risks – most of you know why!

Shikha, our Zumba Queen, narrowly missed a well-deserved podium with her 55-minute 10K. It is perhaps time we put out a poll: Is Shikha a better Zumba trainer or a better runner?

Anna (HM, 3:17), Rohit (10K, 79 mins) and Sheshachalla (FM, 2:53) finished their respective distances with patience and determination.

Nirav came to cheer and ended up covering 5K+ while doing it. Sunil Khanduja somehow found time to play dhols too with the cheering dholi gang.

By now you are probably wondering where exactly I am going with all this. Well, as always, my eyes are firmly on the finish line.

The gang of 50+ Ninjas may have run the same event, across a few different categories.

But there was something unique about every single one of their races – PBs, Comebacks, Survivals, Setbacks, Near-miss, and a few more. And some, quite honestly, were probably just there because everyone else was going.

And that, perhaps, is the real wonder of running.

The race may be the same. The finish line may be the same. But every runner has a different reason for crossing it. That’s the beauty of running.

And perhaps, even more so, the beauty of being part of a community like Running Ninjas.

After all…

50+ Ninjas.
One race.
50+ stories.
And 50+ different finish lines.

And yes, one awesome race report writer!

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