For decades, the marathon has been framed as a test of lungs and legs. But listen closely to the voices inside Indian sport, and a more complicated story emerges. One that refuses to settle on a single truth. That complexity was on full display in London, where history bent—twice. Sabastian Sawe became one of the first men to break the mythical two-hour barrier in a competitive official World Athletics-ratified marathon race, clocking 1:59:30. Eleven seconds later, Yomif Kejelcha followed him home at 1:59:41. It was not just a record; it was a statement. The unthinkable had become repeatable. And perhaps more tellingly, it wasn’t an outlier. It was a pattern emerging from systems that have long mastered the art of endurance.
“Records are made to be broken,” says Dr. PSM Chandran, one of India’s leading sports medicine specialists, and a former Director of Sports Medicine at the Sports Authority of India. He dismissed the awe around the two-hour barrier. To him, the question isn’t whether limits exist, but why some nations reach them sooner. His answer is uncomfortable, even contentious.
He speaks of race, of physiological differences, of capabilities India may simply not possess in the same way. And yet, in the same breath, he admits that decades of inquiry, including a 1986 expedition to identify high-altitude Indian talent, ended without clarity. Athletes were found, tested, and relocated to Delhi. They didn’t transform. The experiment faded. So did the urgency.
“This will be broken too. The Kenyans, long-distance runners, are as good as any African long-distance runners. They belong to the same race, but 100-meter athletes of the same race do well in America. They, perhaps, don’t do as well in Nigeria and Kenya, African countries. They differ from race to race,” he told Sports Now in an exclusive chat.
Talking about where India is falling behind as compared to the rest of the world, particularly African nations, he said, “We don’t have that capacity, endurance, we are not that big, compared to the other African and some Latin American athletes.”
Whether or not having more high altitude centers will help the Indian athletes to perform better in long-distance running, Dr. Chandran remarked, “This has been discussed in many forums, but nobody could conclude. We have trained our athletes at high altitude, but we didn’t improve substantially. In 1986, we formed a committee, and we went to higher altitudes to find athletes. We went there and tested some athletes. We brought them to Delhi, and they stayed here for two years. Then we found that it didn’t live up to expectations, so they were sent back. And we never made an attempt to go to Leh and get athletes from there for long-distance running.”
That unresolved past lingers in the present. Because if altitude alone was the answer, India would have cracked the code by now. The Himalayas exist. Leh exists. But systems, not landscapes, build champions. And that is where Dutee Chand, an Olympian sprinter, shifts the conversation away from inherited traits to lived realities.
“To run a Marathon, you also need to train. There are not too many training centers in India, and the ones that are there are mostly in the cities. Basically, in other countries, they run marathons because they have more endurance and strength power. And their height is also more. If you look at their body, the height of an Indian athlete is short. And the marathon is such that the more height you have, the more endurance power you have, the longer you can run,” she said.
What exists is urban, fragmented, and often disconnected from the demands of elite endurance. Marathon running is not just about running. It is about recovery, discipline, nutrition, and years of structured suffering. India, she implies, has not built enough spaces where that suffering is guided. Her words cut deeper when she speaks about who becomes an athlete in India.
“An Indian athlete doesn’t have so much endurance power that you can run a long distance at a very high speed. So that’s why the number of marathon players is low in India. If the athletes are properly trained in recovery and discipline, they will be able to improve. So it doesn’t depend on the altitude alone,” she highlighted.
“Those who have money, only play sports to enjoy. Like tennis, badminton, etc, these are enjoyment sports. But the children who do not get food to eat at home, do not get clothes to wear, do not get money to study, become athletes because there is no need to invest more money. You can run barefoot, you can run on the road. You can run even after eating food,” she explained.
“If a Kenyan athlete stays here and trains, he won’t be able to become a champion. But if an Indian athlete goes there and trains, he can become a champion. Shoes matter a lot. Because when you run a marathon, your shoes should be very light. At least 200 grams or 250 grams,” she reckoned.
Which brings the question back to India. Not as a country lacking talent, but as one still searching for the ecosystem that turns effort into excellence. The marathon, after all, does not reward bursts. It rewards continuity. And that is where India’s race is still being run.
