Mumbai: Tribals train their guns on Sunday's half marathon

Tribal runners practice ahead of Sunday's half marathon in Shirpur

Nineteen tribal boys and six girls from Shirpur Taluka in Maharashtra's Dhule district will set foot on Mumbai roads for the first time… literally!
Narayan Pawara (18), Somnath Pawara (19) and Mirkha Pawara (17) are among the 25 participants, who will run barefooted and fulfill their dream in the IDBI Half Marathon on Sunday.

"It's a dream come true for us. We all are practising hard for the last one month without shoes as it suits us. We feel we can run faster without shoes. I am confident of breaking my practice timing (10km in 33 minutes) to win the 10km event," Narayan told mid-day from Shirpur yesterday.

Navin Shetty

He ended with a 17th place finish at the inter-school Nationals in Pune while competing in the 21km half marathon in one hour, 15 minutes.

All these runners are practising on the slopes of Karvand right down to Shirpur - a total distance of 10km under the guidance of coach Rakesh Borse.

"They are passionate about sports. Most of them play football and that's why they have good stamina and run swiftly.

"Their parents being labourers, they endure poverty, but they have found a benefactor in Navin Shetty, a sports enthusiast, who takes care of their financial needs, entry fees, training, diet and traveling," Borse said from Shirpur.

Shetty, who is vice-chairman of Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (SVKM-NMIMS), said: "We want to support needy sportspersons especially at the grass root level. The best performer from the tribal group will represent SVKM-NMIMS in the Singapore Half Marathon this December."