Why Gulveer Singh’s historic half marathon mark won’t be recognised as India’s national record

Indian distance runner Gulveer Singh created history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian athlete to run a half marathon in under one hour. Gulveer achieved the feat while competing at the New York City Half Marathon, where he finished third with an impressive timing of 59 minutes and 42 seconds.

South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt won the race with a time of 59:30, while Morocco-born American runner Zouhair Talbi finished second in 59:41.

Although Gulveer’s timing was faster than the current Indian national record in the half marathon, it will not be officially recognised as a national record. The existing mark still belongs to Avinash Sable, who set the record with a time of 1:00:30 at the Delhi Half Marathon on November 2020.

Why Gulveer’s timing won’t be considered for the national record?

The reason behind this is related to the course of the New York City Half Marathon. Even though the race is certified by USA Track & Field and World Athletics, the course is not eligible for official world or national records, which is why Sable will keep his mark intact.

One of the main reasons is that the race is conducted on a point-to-point course. In such races, the starting point and finishing point are located far apart. According to World Athletics rules, the distance between the start and finish points must not exceed a certain limit for records to be recognised.

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In the case of the New York City Half Marathon, the start and finish points are about 11.6 km apart, which is greater than the permitted limit of 10.55 km.

Another factor is the elevation drop along the course. Since the race includes downhill sections, runners can receive assistance from gravity and favourable tailwinds. These conditions can make the race faster compared to standard courses used for record purposes.

Because of these reasons, Gulveer’s time of 59:42 will be recognised only as his personal best in the half marathon and not as the Indian national record.

Despite that, Gulveer continues to be one of India’s most promising distance runners. Over the past two seasons, he has regularly broken national records and currently holds Indian records in 3000m, 5000m, and 10000m on track, as well as the 25km road race.

The runner also enjoyed success at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, where he won gold medals in both the 5000m and 10000m events.