Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024: An On-ground Triumph, Says Procam's Vivek Singh

The Tata Mumbai Marathon stands as a powerful symbol of unity and resilience since its inception in 2004. This annual event which took place on 21 January this year, has transformed into a highly anticipated gathering, drawing participants from CEOs to chaiwallas. Under the leadership of the dynamic duo, Anil and Vivek Singh, who helm Procam International, the marathon has evolved into a monumental entity, fostering a thriving ecosystem valued at approximately $400 million, including the market and associated industries.

Far beyond a mere footrace, the Tata Mumbai Marathon has become a catalyst for change and a celebration of Mumbai's indomitable spirit. The Singh brothers' unwavering commitment to making a positive impact is evident in the marathon's role as a platform for societal change. As pioneers of the distance running movement in India, Procam International's Big 4 includes the Tata Mumbai Marathon, solidifying its place as a trailblazer in the realm of sports events.

In an exclusive chat, Everything Experiential spoke to Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International about the evolution of the Tata Mumbai Marathon, the number of participants that took part in the event this year, its brand associations, the experiential journey of the event, the running revolution, and more.

Edited excerpts:

Since its inception, how has the Tata Mumbai Marathon evolved over the years in terms of the kind of experience it delivers, the participation engagement, etc? 

The Tata Mumbai Marathon has come to define a movement. What is a movement? A movement is something that has various stakeholders as a part of it. The most heartening thing for a promoter is when an event transcends its boundaries, and its limitations of being an event and becomes a movement. A movement is something that is owned by the city and the state. In terms of emotion, the emotion of a movement can never be restricted to a single, it's not a movement. Mumbai Marathon in 2004, when my brother Anil and I conducted the first movement, the Mumbai Marathon, there were hardly two races in the country and 10,000-15,000 registered runners. From those two races in the country to 1,600 timed running events in India, 2.5 million registered runners, that is a movement. That's what a movement does, it ignites. It is a catalyst. It inspires others to take up the course. From a zero-running economy to a US$450 million annual running economy? Events, fees, trainers, a paddle, shoes, registrations, nutrition, a US$450 million economy built on running today from zero? That's what movements do. So from inception. This event is now a movement that has taken its message to the four corners of our country. It has inspired countless people to take conscious responsibility for their health, fitness, and well-being. So we're most happy that what we seeded in 2004, today is the largest socio-sporting movement.

How many participants attended the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024, and how does this number break down between on-ground and virtual categories? 

How did the association between Tata Mumbai Marathon and its various brand partners employ specific strategies to enhance the overall participant experience? How did the sponsors integrate their brand messaging seamlessly into the experiential marketing initiatives at the event?

There are two paradigms in world sports one is the spectator sporting paradigm which India has used for hockey, cricket football, etc and the other is the participative sporting paradigm which was non-existent before the Tata Mumbai Marathon. It is the Tata Mumbai Marathon that ignited the participative sporting paradigm in this country and within the sport is the most experiential of them all you as a participant start the line when we say 60,000 participants in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. This experiential aspect of the event has connected with brands and brands are just loving this platform to get their ethos message across.

How has the Tata Mumbai Marathon evolved in terms of philanthropy? What was the significance of United Way Mumbai (UWM) in the success of the philanthropic efforts associated with the Tata Mumbai Marathon?

Philanthropy has been a fascinating and wonderful aspect of the Tata Mumbai Marathon since its inception. I remember in year one we had Give India as our partner and they formulated a beautiful charity structure which has been of course taken forward by United Way Mumbai now United Way has just taken it to another dimension another realm they've done such a super job. But this charity pyramid has been in the event since its inception. Corporate giving, individual giving, and HNI giving have been a part of this event since its inception. In 2004 year 1 we raised 43 lakhs for charity and I was over the moon because in those years the dollar was about 41 42 43 rupees was the dollar. And it was like we raised a hundred thousand US dollars! I was so proud that we had and I knew that we had done it most amazingly, it's the most democratically cause-agnostic platform so that year about 30-40 charities had got involved, raising 100,000 US dollars on those currency tokens last year Mumbai Marathon raised 40 crores for charity, 200 and plus NGOs involved and in such a wonderful, transparent democratic manner that people run for a cause they believe in we don't tell them what cause is good, bad or to run for what more can one ask for it is today the largest sporting philanthropy platform in India this year 270 NGOs have used and we have gone past last year's amount in a few weeks we will know by how much we will go on to the next how did the

How has Tata Mumbai Marathon been redefining the health, wellness, and giving paradigm in the country, and what role has the running revolution been playing in this strategy?

The running revolution has made people more health-conscious and let me tell you that the Covid pandemic has made people more conscious about their wellness, it's also led to an overall greater increase in empathy levels of people and people are willing to make more time for themselves to get their health and fitness right and these platforms which are large social sporting platforms help to propagate communal harmony help to propagate this health and fitness message.

What is being done by Procam International to make the event stand out as one of the top 10 marathons in the world?

It's not about techniques, it’s about what the event does, how it connects with the city, how the Government of Maharashtra has given us support, support from Mumbai police, the support from the municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai support from Central Railways Western Railways, BEST - all these agencies come forward to make a Mumbai marathon successful it's truly the pride of the city and because they take pride in it.

How did the various event ambassadors build on participant experience on-ground, virtual, and in other ways?

We have been very fortunate that the world's best athletes have come to Mumbai as event ambassadors and this time we were just delighted Katie Moon was our event ambassador. What a delightful lady what a profound person and personality world champion and twice Olympic gold medalist going for gold again in Paris 2024 amazing lady chose the toughest discipline within the athletic world called pole vaulting so these people come here they connect with our sponsors they connect with the people through mass media and the best part about them are they take the positive messages of the city of our culture back to their world and because they influence us it matters. Meb Keflezighi only man alive who won an Olympic medal in 2009 New York 2014 Boston winner an incredible human being who does so much work in the space of giving to these people coming here interacting with our sponsor's clients our partners our runners taking back the messages of a positive vibrant India to the world helps a lot in showcasing us to the world it helps us in getting our voice of what we are doing here heard across different platforms these people have access to.

In what ways did the Tata Mumbai Marathon embrace emerging technologies to adapt to the changing landscape of sports events and provide a unique and innovative experience for participants? What role did interactive installations and immersive environments play in enhancing the overall atmosphere of the marathon?

We have the Tata Mumbai Marathon app and we have a virtual run where people can run on Saturday to Sunday, so it's about two days at a geographic location of their choice and that has been hugely successful. People download the app, people can start, practice on it, and when they're ready, they press start and their run gets recorded via GPS. And more importantly, their timings count. We give certain banks of allowance to these people, for example, for the next race.

If they want to race a physical race next year, they can submit their timing certificate and they get a certain number, get a privilege. Okay, let's say the top 500 full marathon finishers via the virtual app are given if they want a place reserved for them in the Mumbai Marathon. So there's a link back to our physical event of next year.

It expands the community that is following and running the Mumbai Marathon because everybody can't come to CSMT. Firstly, because we have limitations on a number of people we can take, or secondly, they are not able to make it a particular year. But this way they're part of the TMM family, they're running their favourite event, even though it's remotely, that we send them bids, we send them medals, and it's properly very formally treated as a formal, it's a formal registration with monies attached. This year we partnered with FanCode.

FanCode is very keen to work with us, to work with Procam to deliver an even deeper, more interactive, more personal experience to each viewer. So we started with a pilot called the 10K in the marathon, in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. We are going to see the results and we'll know in a few weeks what is happening. But people could actually follow their journey, their friends, well-wishers, and family could follow each person's journey online for the 10K. We've deployed additional timing mats, we've deployed additional cameras, and FanCode has been developing the code. So it is to bring home, see it's participative sport.

How did Tata Mumbai Marathon look at addressing inclusivity in their experiential marketing strategies to cater to participants with diverse interests and backgrounds?

Absolutely, from year two, we had champions with disability as part of our event. And that's so wonderful to see them come out. It's such a big day for senior citizens, for champions with disability. Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, you should do some research about them, and how they're making people with disability run. And run with whom? with corporates, who are then offering these people jobs. ABBF is a story. The champion with disability category is a story. The senior citizen category is a story. They train for months and months to be showcased on that day. And the Tata Mumbai Marathon does that.

Jai Vakil Foundation had 70 plus people registered from their school, which is of intellectually disabled people, and intellectually challenged people. They're more abled in many ways than us, so intellectually challenged people. And they have not just showcased, but they're also able to do things. They're able to showcase themselves, not only giving the kids and the people a day out, but they're going to raise a fair amount of money using the Tata Mumbai Marathon for themselves.

What kind of trends are expected to disrupt the sporting events and marathon industry in India in 2024?

I think artificial intelligence will play a bigger role. People will be able to kind of, you know, use the TMM app in different ways, run virtually, interact virtually, do business, do commerce. All these aspects will become more and more relevant. What our relationship with Fancode could deliver a personalized, running video journey of yours from start to finish, which would be hugely powerful, not just for your friends and family and well-wishers, but for anybody around the world. And if there are celebrities running, can you imagine people following those celebrities?

It's a very powerful tool that we are working on. So, I would say, the adoption of technology, technology is imminent. People are going to adopt more and more technology to make the run more enjoyable, to run faster, etc. And for promoters to bring the race closer to every household in India, to bring the race closer to every person in the world, is where technology can play a huge role. And AI, VR, which is virtual reality, MR, which is mixed reality, can all be relevant.

What are you expecting from the Tata Mumbai Marathon next year, in terms of participants, sponsorship by brands, usage of innovative technologies, etc?

It's going to get bigger, for sure, and better. And we are committed to delivering a better experience for all participants. And I feel that the energy and enthusiasm and inspiration is unleashed by a Tata Mumbai Marathon. The ripples of that will be felt across different segments of society.

Actually, it has instilled a can-do, will-do spirit in India. Our Prime Minister gave the clarion call on 29 August 2019 for the Fit India Movement. What is the Fit India Movement? Have you thought about it? It's not about athletes being fit. They are fit by default. It's not about cricketers being fit. They are fit by default. The Fit India Movement clarion call given by the Honourable Prime Minister on 29 August 2019 was about India getting fit, taking more responsibility for their health and wellness, holistic fitness, spiritual health, mental health, and physical health.

Tata Mumbai Marathon is the greatest beacon of this clarion call given by our Honourable Prime Minister. Running is known to de-stress you. Running is known to aid your cardiovascular regime and cardiovascular system. Running is known to be something that brings and builds social bonds that are directly linked to happiness.

The happiness index of a person, a huge aspect of the happiness index of a person, is the social connections he or she has and sustains. The marathon is a platform, an activity, an event, a movement. That builds these social connections and bonds. Brings people closer together. Shows people there is unity and diversity. Is based on inclusiveness, compassion, strength, skill and giving, which is charity.