Loop 16: 46:24 from bib 18, and the race is decided

Loop 16 is in, and the race is decided. Bib 18, Meghraj Sharma, went out alone and came back in 46:24, with 13 min 36 sec to spare, to complete 16 yards: 107.3 km, or 66.7 miles.

It was the quickest loop he ran in the race: 4 min 9 sec faster than loop 15, and 2 min 49 sec quicker than his previous best, the 49:13 in loop 12. Bib 11, Dr Ronak, had stopped on 15 yards, so bib 18 finishes exactly one yard clear of him, the last one standing. That makes 45 out.

What the splits say. He ran 13 hours 37 minutes of the 16, averaging 51:05 a loop, about 9 minutes of rest an hour. He got faster as the night went on: his last five loops averaged 49:42 against 52:06 for his first five.

The context. The Ahmedabad chapter record is 18 yards, set by Amit Bhattacharjee in 2025, so this run is 2 yards short of it. Together the whole field has run 353 yards, 2,367 km.