It was primitive, and undoubtedly an ordeal,” recalls Suraj Shetty of the Kalyan Dombivli Runners (KDR) group. Ahead of the 2026 Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM), the club has an ‘app’solutely ingenious prospect: Lace up your running shoes, log into an app, and let the tech decide how well you’re training for the big day. A section of the under-redevelopment app An app developed by runners of the 3000-strong group sits at the heart of KDR Rise — a three-month-long virtual challenge that culminates with the TMM. Unlike the manual system that relied solely on honesty and mutual trust, the app synchronises with popular fitness platforms and devices like Strava and Garmin and fetches accurate data from the source. “Every group has an assigned referee who shoulders the responsibility of maintaining transparency,” Dombivli-based Shetty informs us. Members warm up near KDMC Garden before a run Nikhil Dudwadkar, a senior professional at a leading cybersecurity firm, oversees the development of the app, which will soon hit the Google Play Store on September 15. Under layers of tech speak, he’s just a runner trying to get fitter. “I was an athletic child. But somewhere along the way, work commitments took over,” the 49-year-old rues. A run at the 2011 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (now TMM) came as a wake-up call. “The 5 km run is unique in the kind of participants that you meet there. You’ll see runners across age groups, some fit as a fiddle, others on their own journey. There is active participation from the Persons with Disability (PwD) community as well. It opened my eyes to the triviality of the excuses I was making,” he shares. Nikhil Dudwadkar Dudwadkar calls it meditative; Shetty labels it a passion, but we can’t help wondering how a beginner with no connections in running circles can avail of these benefits. “We have a system where individuals can join solo and get sorted into groups based on their expertise,” Shetty informs. Further categorised into Challenger (for intermediates) and Warrior (for seasoned runners), the app formulates challenges to fit the user. “We’re also ensuring beginners don’t overdo it, with a five-day policy. The challenges start at easy weekly goals,” he adds. While Dudwadkar can now boast of upgrading from his pivotal 5 km run, to a full 42 km marathon last year, the bar is set a tad higher by the group’s veteran runners. Fifty-four-year-old KR Krishnan lists seven full TMMs, six Tata Ultramarathons, and Navy Marathons as his credentials over a call with us. “The best part about having a group is that we give each other pep talks and share tips along the way. I’ve seen new crops of young runners join us every year; their enthusiasm is contagious,” he chuckles. Suraj Shetty While the challenge comes as good news for runners’ circles, they’ll be running in circles in more ways than one. One of the longest dedicated public tracks in the city is the newly opened Worli Sea Face promenade (5 km). Even if runners from the far-flung suburbs made the long trek to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli, its running trail leading to Kanheri is hardly 6 km long. “It’s one of our biggest challenges. Long-distance marathons that exceed 50 or even 100 km require uninterrupted training at a steady pace. We’re training at the KDMC Garden and on 90 Feet Road in Dombivli with extra safety measures for now, with the hope that things change for the better soon,” Shetty signs off. Godspeed.