Mumbai: Before he could break the longest standing national record in Indian athletics, Sawan Barwal fell around 100 metres to the finish line of the Rotterdam Marathon. Strong and cold wind compounding the physical toll on the marathon debutant, Barwal lay almost blacked out for a good 45 seconds before a volunteer helped him get back up.
Up and running again, Barwal collapsed at the finish line. But not before doing what no Indian athlete had in 48 years—better the men’s marathon national mark. The Armyman from Himachal Pradesh clocked 2:11:58 on Sunday while finishing 20th in the race, breaking the late Shivnath Singh’s record of 2:12:00 set at Jalandhar in 1978.
So long had it remained unchallenged that generations of marathoners tried and faded until a distance runner competing in his first full marathon flipped the chapter and, with it, breathed fresh life into India’s recent stagnant marathon scene.
For the protagonist, though, it was as much about a target missed as the record set.
“Of course, it feels good to have done this in my first marathon attempt,” Barwal told HT. “My target was to go between 2:08 to 2:10. The last 2km were really difficult with the cold wind. If not for that, I could have pushed harder. But coming into the race, I was fairly confident of going under the national record.”
The confidence stemmed from the planning and training over more than six months.
A runner who largely competed in 5,000m and 10,000m, apart from some road and cross country races and half marathons, Barwal was set for his marathon debut last October only for an injury to push it back. From thereon, after returning in December and competing at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in January, the Rotterdam Marathon was earmarked in bold.
“It was important to make my debut at the right time and the right course. For the last three months, we trained hard in Coonoor with this race and target in mind,” said the 28-year-old.
Making the marathon move had been running in his mind since 2023, but was kept at bay to focus on the more familiar events in an Asian Games year. His potential in it reflected in the numbers.
“When we tested him, his VO2 max was around 79-80, even without much training,” said Ajith Markose, the lead coach of Reliance Foundation’s Endurance Program that Barwal joined in 2022. “That showed his potential to be a good road runner. Plus, he was already a good half marathon runner.”
Barwal would run for “fun” in school growing up in hilly Himachal’s Mandi district. It turned more serious when the kid began winning medals at zonal and district competitions in shorter distances. In 2019, Barwal was recruited in the Army, where the talent of the Havildar attached with the Army Sports Institute in Pune was groomed.
“The break due to the Covid pandemic impacted my progress a little,” said Barwal, who came third in the Asian Half Marathon in 2023.
That was one of the more noteworthy achievements of his career until Sunday. The marathon debut has changed that. Barwal finished 20th in a quality field in the Dutch city, ahead of his more experienced compatriot Gopi T (23rd, 2:13:16), who had earlier come closest to the national mark. Barwal trains with Gopi and Man Singh (PB 2:13:25).
“Group training in marathon is very important. They are very experienced marathon runners, and I am learning a lot from them,” he said.
Barwal has also gone below the Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying mark of 2:15:04 for this year’s Asian Games in Japan. The first box ticked on first try, the marquee continental event will quickly arrive as a significant second test. Four runners have achieved the qualifying mark.
“The main target for this year is the Asian Games, and winning a medal,” Barwal said. “This was my marathon debut and I did not have a lot of experience. It’s only a start.”
