Doctor Kartik Karkera, an MS in orthopaedics, has seen a sudden rush of patients since the start of the year. The uptick coincided with the 28-year-old making a mark in the marathon in Mumbai last month and in Delhi earlier this week. Hobby and professional runners and regular folks with aches and pains queued up for medical advice from a doctor with a unique additional qualification; a marathoner bound for the Asian Games.
When Karkera won the Delhi marathon on Sunday, he ran faster than the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) qualification standard of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 04 seconds for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Moreover, in only his third marathon, he clocked 2:13.10 to win gold and saw off the challenge from Olympian T Gopi and 2024 Asian Marathon winner Man Singh.
Karkera, an alumnus of the Tambov State University in Russia, participated in his first marathon only in September, the Moscow Marathon, but is already the third fastest Indian and within striking distance of Shivnath Singh’s national record of 2:12.00 set in 1978.
“I went to Russia to meet a friend from my days of being a student there. I participated in the marathon as a pacer (pace-maker) but completed the course,” Karkera said about his first full marathon.
He was over six seconds faster in the Delhi marathon than in Mumbai. The 4 am start at the national capital, the flat course and the cool weather were ideal conditions, he said, compared to Mumbai — 7 am start with two hills on the course and a coastal road stretch.
Karkera believes he is a medal contender for the Asian Games. In December, he did not extend his contract at the Dr Vasantrao Pawar Medical College and Hospital in Nashik to focus on distance running.
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“I had up to 36 hours of hospital duty. But I would also find time to train. I used to go to the ground at 5:30 am to train till 8 am, and then change from my sportswear to formal clothes and go to the hospital. In the evening, I would go directly to the ground from the hospital. My coach used to bring my training clothes. It was tough but I think my student life made my mind quite strong. Running is my passion,” Karkera said.
However, he is trying to find a ‘work-training balance’ in an Asian Games year. He is a surgical assistant at private hospitals and also sees patients via video consultations.
“Post the Mumbai marathon, a lot of people know me so I get a lot of patients for online consultations. I have a good patient flow now. There is a difference between me and an orthopaedic doctor because I am a runner too. I understand what a runner goes through and what exactly the problem is. I have a good success rate,” Karkera said.
The son of a Mumbai businessman from a family that has no sporting roots, Karkera started running as a hobby when he was an MBBS student at the Tambov State University. “In my second year of MBBS, I wanted to be physically active. So I started running, swimming, shooting, to avoid the stress of studies,” Karkera said. When COVID struck, he focussed solely on running.
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“The university was closed in 2020, the COVID year. So I thought, why just sit at home? I started running twice a day.”
The next year he started running half-marathons in Russia. Karkera was spotted by one of the athlete managers who thought he had potential and linked him up with 2004 Athens Olympics gold medallist in the 400 metres Yuriy Borzakovskiy, who had become a coach. Stride Running Club in Russia became a sponsor.
“I trained under Yuriy for one-and-a-half years. From him I learnt what it takes to become an Olympic champion, what should be the mindset, visualisation methods. I still talk to Yuriy,” Karkera said. In India, distance-running specialist Vijender Singh, the coach of Kavita Raut, a 2010 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medal-winner, is his coach.
“If I had to represent my country, I had to compete in India. So I returned (from Russia) in November 2023 and then did the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam in 2024,” Karkera said.
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A 1,500m Maharashtra state record holder and an 800m state champion in 2022, Karkera has a wide distance running arc. The 42.195 km race became a favourite when he won an unofficial marathon in Nashik organised by the Maharashtra Vidyapeeth Samaj in January 2025.
“I was representing my hospital. I participated in that event without much marathon training, and I finished in a time of 2:20.00 and won. After that, I knew that marathon was my thing. Moreover, I was waiting for my time because if I would have won this championship (Delhi marathon) last year, it wouldn’t have made that impact, because you see the Asian Games come every four years. I just wanted to perform at the right time.”
