Huge thanks to club member Helen Holdroyd for sending us this report from her recent trip to India!

On a recent holiday to India cycling around Rajasthan, I was fortunate enough to very timely be in Jaipur on 1st February which coincided with the 2026 AU Jaipur Marathon. In its 17th year, there was a plethora of running distances on offer with the marathon starting at 3am. Over 100,000 participants took part, from elite athletes to fun-run participants doing shorter distances.

Not for a moment thinking we’d be running, myself and a fellow cyclist Martin, who enjoys doing ultra runs, set out at 6am while it was still dark to hear whoops of encouragement in the distance which we followed to  find the start and finish line for all the races. The atmosphere was electric, people of all ages could be seen either running or preparing themselves to take part. 

(Left to right): Martin Finnigan, Helen Holdroyd, Dr. Shraddha Arya, Mr. Tushar, Dr Nikhil Nigam

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan and It’s known widely as the “Pink City” (many of its historic buildings were painted terracotta pink) symbolic of hospitality.  It has to be said, hospitality at its finest was showered on us that morning by so many people, but in particular Doctor Nikhil Nigam and Dr. Shraddha Arya and their team from Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur. We found them coordinating a huge number of entrants from their university to take part in the race. 

Hearing we were runners from the United Kingdom, they excitedly insisted we join them in the 5k race. There was palpable excitement as we were given t-shirts and an entry number and interviewed and photographed. Definitely felt like celebrity status!!

The Palace of the Winds

The race was huge fun with stages set up along the course to hop on and off for a sing-song and a dance, it was a race like no other!  The friendliness and inclusion was heart warming. Later in the day in the city of Jaipur I stopped to look at the iconic building of the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) with its 953 small windows built in 1799. The windows allowed royal women to observe street festivals unseen. The race was a true example of how progressive India has become. Men and women were together running in partnership and embracing joy. 

It’s such a wonderful part of the world and a highly recommended event. Thanks again to Nikhil Nigam and his fabulous team!