20 years on, running is a mainstream business

Distance running has become an aspirational sport for Indians, and in turn, booming business for sponsors. Where does it go from here?

- Soumya Gupta

Nearly a fourth of all sponsorship money in emerging sports now comes from marathons alone, according to WPP Media.

Come January, thousands of people across India will be getting into their running shoes, perfecting their pace, getting together for practice runs in the morning, perhaps exchanging notes on their performance, sharing Strava screenshots of their completed runs, all to line up in the wee hours for one of the tens of major marathons India's major cities will host this month and the next.

Distance running—from the humble 3K and 5K for beginners to the humbling halfand full-marathons—has slowly become a national obsession as getting fit becomes aspirational. Nearly all of India's major cities are host to at least one major marathon with an impressive title sponsor, while smaller cities and towns too begin hosting local races.

More than 20 years after the Mumbai Marathon was started and became India's biggest running event, distance running has become a serious business enterprise, generating hundreds of crores in direct revenue from participation fees and sponsorships along with additional money made from participants buying goods and travelling to these races.

Marathons and other distance running events are driving annual revenue of ₹250-300 crore in the sale of clothes and shoes, travel, hotels and other components of the 'running economy', according to a September 2025 report by consulting firm KPMG. India hosts more than 1,500 marathons with participants per race ranging from a few thousands to more than 65,000 in marquee events such as the Tata Mumbai Marathon.