Desi met videsi at the press meet and greet held at the Mumbai Marathon press centre at Azad Maidan yesterday. The foreign and Indian elite athletes shared a dais as the co-ordinator began by saying "last year was an astonishing year for road running." Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge set a new marathon world record of 2 hours 1 minute and 39 seconds in September.

The fastest man in the field for the city on Sunday is Abe Kuma from Ethiopia. The Arsenal football fan has a 2:05:50 at Rotterdam. Kuma is married to Tejitu Daba, who is also an athlete and competing in the Mumbai marathon. When asked if it was difficult to have two top runners in the family, Kuma smiled and said, "not difficult at all, because my wife is a wonderful lady." Women's defending champion, Ethiopia's Amane Gobena, will look to improve on her 2:25:49 performance in 2018.