Tata Steel Kolkata 25K 2025 – My First 25K Running Experience

I still can’t believe I went to Kolkata to run

Sometimes I stop and think about how much my life has changed because of running.

A few years ago, if someone had told me that one day I would travel all the way to Kolkata just to run 25 kilometres, I probably wouldn’t have believed them.

Not even close.

But somehow, that is exactly what happened.

The Tata Steel Kolkata 25K 2025 was my first 25 km race.

And the funny part?

I went alone.

There was no friend running with me. No brother beside me. I had simply decided that I wanted to experience this race.

Looking back, even that decision feels a little unbelievable.

This time, I wasn’t chasing the clock

I had heard a lot about the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K.

People talked about the atmosphere, the route and the experience of running through Kolkata.

So I decided to go without putting too much pressure on myself.

I wasn’t thinking about a personal best.

I wasn’t calculating what time I needed at every kilometre.

I just wanted to enjoy 25 kilometres.

And that made the entire race feel different.

The route took me through different parts of the city, and for a while it felt like I was seeing Kolkata in a completely different way.

I wasn’t sitting in a car or walking around as a tourist.

I was running through the city.

Kolkata surprised me

But the biggest surprise wasn’t the distance.

It was the people.

During the race, people were cheering and motivating runners along the route.

I’ve participated in races in different cities by now, but the energy I felt in Kolkata was something I hadn’t experienced in quite the same way before.

Everywhere I looked, there was someone encouraging the runners.

And when you’re running 25 kilometres, those small moments matter.

A cheer.

A smile.

Someone shouting encouragement.

For a few seconds, you forget that your legs are getting tired.

It genuinely felt like the city was running with me.

25 kilometres later

Eventually, I crossed the finish line.

25 km.

2:38:06.

I had done it.

There was no big target I had been chasing that day, so the feeling was different from my previous races.

I wasn’t looking at the clock and thinking about how close I was to a particular number.

I was simply happy that I had experienced something completely new.

My first 25K.

My first race in Kolkata.

And another reminder of how far running had taken me.

A few years ago, I couldn’t imagine becoming a runner. Now I was travelling to another city to run 25 kilometres alone.

How much can one life change?

That’s probably what I remember most about this race.

Not the timing.

Not even the distance.

It’s the thought of how different my life had become.

Running started almost by accident.

Then came my first 10K.

Then my first half marathon.

Then faster and faster half marathons.

And now I was travelling across the country, alone, just because I wanted to run.

I still find that difficult to believe.

Life can change without you realizing it.

Sometimes one small decision takes you somewhere you never expected to go.

For me, that small decision was running.

And Kolkata was another chapter in that journey.

I went there to run 25 kilometres.

I came back with a memory of a city that made those 25 kilometres feel special.