Aditi Pandya didn’t arrive at the 130th Boston Marathon chasing a vague goal. The city-based runner finished in 3.22.35, emerging as the fastest Indian woman in the race, a mark she had built her training regimen around. “I ended up running about 500m extra because the course was a little longer. But that happens sometimes with GPX (GPS Exchange format) files,” she says.
Meeting the qualifying standard was only one part of the process – final entry was determined by a global cut-off. A stronger performance in Delhi has already secured her spot at Boston. “During those 13 weeks of preparation, I covered close to 1,400km. In peak weeks, I was running up to 200km. The idea was to peak at the right time, not before the race,” says the entrepreneur-nutritionist.
Race day tested her mentally as much as physically. “I was questioning things right from the start because this was my first World Major. But I knew I had to trust my training and finish,” she recalls. The cold conditions and the sheer scale of the event heightened pressure, but the atmosphere kept her going. “There’s not a single moment where I felt alone. The crowd was constantly cheering, and there was a sea of runners around me. It’s an electrifying experience,” Pandya shares. Crossing the finish line, she says, felt overwhelming. “It felt surreal. It’s not a straightforward journey. There are too many curves for you to navigate. You have to play through them and keep going,” she reminisces.
Bring up beginners, and she gets straight into the basics, stating, “You need to enjoy the sport first. Start small with a run-walk jog and build consistency. Then slowly add structure and aim bigger.”
At the Boston Marathon this year, Rajalakshmi Swaminathan clocked 3.30.23, finishing among the top Indian women. At the finish, the moment caught up with her and the result carried added meaning. “I crossed the finish line full of smiles, and within a minute, I broke down. The sheer significance just hit me. This race outcome is almost 15 minutes less than the BQ (Boston Qualifying) for my age category, so I’m elated having qualified for Boston in Boston,” the 45-year-old architect, who took to running at 33, says.
Her journey into running began with 10Ks and half marathons at a time when fewer women were part of the sport. Around 2020-21, when her health dipped, she turned to running to regain her fitness. “I followed a structured approach, began strength training and fixed my nutrition. This journey has been about incremental improvement, small wins and consistency that has compounded over several years,” she shares. Whereas the Boston course brought its own set of hurdles, she explains, “It has some hilly portions that come between 24k and 32k. The temperatures were less than 10 degrees, but felt much colder because of the wind.”
In the weeks leading up to Boston, her preparations were interrupted by a hip injury, along with neck and shoulder pain linked to a cervical disc bulge. The setbacks forced her to focus more on managing pain. On race day, she adjusted her approach, holding back on the climbs and staying controlled through the later stages. However, staying mentally steady was key. “I refused to be a victim of the circumstance and tried to do justice to every factor that got me there,” she adds.
Support at home played a key role, too. “From cooperating with the dietary needs at home to the hours away during runs every morning, to ensuring I get enough sleep, my family has been extremely supportive,” she concludes.