Everyone remembers a time when technology was synonymous with big computers in a room. Today, AI is writing poetry, generating art, and somehow, it even knows if you’ve been sitting on your couch for too long. It’s safe to say tech has gone from filling up a big room to fitting snugly on your wrists.
In 2025, your smartwatch is your personal coach, your social media manager and a buddy that motivates you throughout the day. It does not just call you out when you’re being lazy, it celebrates when you move, and alerts everyone you know of your daily steps that you – let’s face it – barely finished.
Today, tech has turned into a game where the high score is measured in all the calories you burned, along with the accomplishment badges you picked up on your way.
Come January 1, many dust off their fitness trackers, reset their goals, and swear this year will be different. But at Croma, we found four runners who took their relationship with fitness tech from casual swiping to long-term commitment.
From Rohan Ekbote, Croma’s media buying lead, with his decade-long love for running, to Milind Joglekar, a learning and development lead, tackling 42km like it’s his casual morning commute. We also spoke to Robin Sharma, our human resources head, who went gadget-free to find Zen in the chaos, and Rounak Chikhale, a young brand marketing associate who also emerged as a half-marathon hero.
Whether they were tracking every heartbeat or running purely on good vibes, the four had stories to tell about how technology was reshaping their race. We spoke to them about their stint at this year’s Tata Mumbai Marathon 2025, and here’s what we learned.
Going the Garmin way
For Milind Joglekar, the 45-year-old lead of Learning and Development at Croma, having metrics at his fingertips is perhaps the most important factor in his fitness journey. In fact, Joglekar’s 5:00 AM training sessions are powered by his Garmin 245 Forerunner smartwatch and chest strap.
“The live heart-rate monitoring was crucial, especially during the Peddar Road and Sea Link inclines,” he explains. This data-driven approach helped him tackle the 42 KM full marathon’s most challenging sections strategically. “If not for the unexpected temperature rise, I would have hit my target of five hours and 38 minutes,” he tells Unboxed.
Joglekar’s journey to becoming a data-driven runner began with a wake-up call – a diabetes diagnosis at the age of 35. As a former cricketer, he dove straight into a 21 KM run in 2016. “I wanted to indulge in a sport that didn’t have me rely on others,” he recalls.
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Rohan Ekbote from Croma’s Media team shares Joglekar’s passion for precision. Ekbote’s Garmin Instinct Solar 2 has been instrumental in shaping his half-marathon performance of two hours and twelve minutes.
While he has been a dedicated Garmin smartwatch user for a while, Ekbote recalls how limited mobile data and rudimentary tracking methods heavily influenced his early running days. “I remember taking my bike out for a spin and identifying a landmark (such as an electrical pole) at the one-kilometre mark,” he reveals with a laugh.
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For his runs, the 40-year-old Ekbote relies on Garmin’s heart-rate watch face that tells him when to take it easy. “I’ve seen runners fall unconscious because of over-exertion,” he notes. “During the Peddar Road incline, I’d tone it down if my watch alerted me about increased heart rate,” he explains further.
Both runners swear by their wearable’s sleep-tracking data, as well. “Sleep rate is crucial,” Ekbote explains. “Garmin does a great job telling me how much rest I need for D-Day, indicating my body battery along with calories burned.”
However, that isn’t the only common factor between the two. Both Ekbote and Joglekar share how their first-ever experience with tech tracking began with the US-based TomTom smartwatch.
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The satellite-based smartwatch, which is no longer in business, was perhaps the first-ever piece of modern tech for marathoners and runners looking to track their stats. Today, Garmin holds the title for being a preferred choice for several athletes owing to its accurate predictions and better data representation.
The brand has been a familiar name for everyone from casual hikers to national athletes. That said, today, it is best known for offering a variety of safety features, as well as sensors, that can turn just about any outdoor activity into relatable stats.
Starting smart
But while Garmin might just be the gold standard for serious runners, Rounak Chikhale proves that starting your fitness journey doesn’t always require premium gear. The 27-year-old brand marketing associate at Croma proudly shows off his Noise ColorFit Pro.
“I am currently using this smartwatch I got as a free gift from Croma,” he tells Unboxed with a grin. “It has all the essential sports modes and heart rate monitoring. But, to me, what matters most is that it connects with Strava and helps me track my basics,” he explains.
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For someone who completed his first-ever half-marathon in two hours and 29 minutes, Chikhale’s approach to tech comes across as a refreshingly sensible one. “Before I got myself a smartwatch, I used apps that could tell me how much I’m doing, and what I’m doing,” he explains.
As an avid cyclist and a football freak, Chikhale’s weekend training runs, and strict no-sweets policy proved enough to prepare him for the Tata Mumbai Marathon.
But apart from having access to Strava, he mentions how he also can’t do without his wireless earbuds. “Having TWS earbuds means zero wire-related distractions during training runs, though I prefer to run the actual marathon sans any music,” he remarks.
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“When I realised one of the world’s most recognised marathons was happening in my own city, I just had to sign up,” he says. He also mentions how his exposure to various sporting communities has greatly helped him shape his perspective on fitness tech.
“My first community cycle ride brought attention to how outdated my gear really was. Staying updated with technology is crucial for improvement, especially when you’re into fitness,” he declares.
Despite experiencing knee pain towards the end of his run, the crowd’s motivation kept him going. Now eyeing to hit the full marathon next year, Rounak remains enthusiastic and hopeful about exploring new tech. “Maybe I’ll try a smart ring, just to see how accurate they are,” Chikhale mentions with a shrug.
His advice for potential marathoners: “Whether you’re a participant or a spectator, everyone should experience this event at least once, simply for the sheer energy.”
Back to basics
But where Chikhale represents the new generation embracing affordable fitness tech, we also encountered an interesting counterpoint with our final runner’s story.
When training, Robin Sharma, the head of HRBP at Croma, does something unusual in 2025 – he checks on his time by asking a nearby rickshaw driver! But when we spoke to the 54-year-old about finishing his half marathon in only two hours and 10 minutes, he admitted how his decade-long stint with fitness wasn’t always ‘tech-free’.
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“I used to swear by the Apple iPod back in 2014,” Sharma recalls with a laugh. “Music definitely boosted my morale, but over time, I found myself becoming excessively dependent on devices to perform.”
His turning point, perhaps, came in during a 100 KM ultra run in Bangalore, where a moment of panic over misplaced earphones (which were actually around his neck!) made him question his dependency on technology.
Today, his younger colleagues may strap on a watch and monitor their heart rates, but Sharma strongly believes in running purely on instinct. “Believe it or not, after a while, even your music stops motivating you. What matters is the stamina and intent to cover the distance,” he explains. “Running, for me, eventually became a medium to enjoy nature and soak in my surroundings,” he adds.
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Despite being an old-school runner who never got used to smartwatches, Sharma isn’t completely opposed to embracing innovation. “If there’s one thing I might try using in the future, it’s smart glasses—something that works like sunglasses while alerting me about upcoming inclines,” he says with a smile. Glares are probably the one wearable device I will not be able to do without!”
From Joglekar’s data-driven precision and Ekbote’s discipline to Chikhale’s enthusiasm and Sharma’s minimalism, the four runners from Croma prove there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marathon success.
Whether you’re analysing every heartbeat through a premium Garmin, tracking basics with a Noise ColorFit, or simply listening to your body’s natural rhythm, the finish line welcomes all.
But while these inspiring stories might make you want to jump out of that couch and dust off your running shoes, we’re here to remind you that your smartwatch can count your steps, but it certainly won’t take them for you!
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Amit Kumar
Loved this article, have run myself half marathon in this year’s TMM. However irony is that Croma don’t really stock these highend watches to help runners.