On the run, and loving it!

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Truck drivers often spot him running tirelessly on highways, mendicants can’t believe their eyes when they see him pacing up steep hilly inclinations and sand dunes think he is company. Meet Arun Kumar Bhardwaj, a government officer by profession and a long-distance runner by passion. And by long-distance, we mean he loves to

run “seriously long distances” — races that aren’t of the conventional 42-odd-kilometre-long-marathon type, but ultramarathons, that once stretched up to 567-kilometres. And Arun covered the impossible distance in just six days and won. Currently, the 42-year-old runner is undergoing rigorous training for the Badwater Ultramarathon that takes place in Death Valley, California, on July 11 this year.
Arun’s passion for running long miles began not as a kid or a youngster, but surprisingly, on the day he became a father. He recalls, “Normally long-distance runners graduate to ultramarathon after participating in a few conventional distance marathons, but I took to ultramarathon straight away — for the sake of my daughter. Eleven-years back, when my daughter Zola was born, in order to motivate her, I ran the 180-odd-kilometres from Haridwar to my hometown Baghpat in less than 24 hours while carrying gangajal in a kaanwar. I had never run a marathon earlier and had no experience of long distance running but I had the faith that I could do it.”
His debut in the ultramarathon circuit came soon after. And his biggest high came last year when he won the Six Day Race in South Africa and became the first ever Indian to win any six-day-race. “This time I did it not just for my kids, I hoped it could motivate all Indians who need a hero and I wanted to tell them that if I could do it so can they,” says Arun.
He has planned his course ahead well. In the next two years, he believes things will look up for him and long-distance running as a sport will find recognition in the country. For that he plans to run from Delhi to Khardungla, and take up the North-South and East-West corridor and finally run the entire Golden Quadrilateral (road that connects the four metros) by 2014. “If I go out and win and bring laurels to the country people will be motivated.” Indians are a formidable cricketing side, have won hockey golds at the Olympics and produced champions in chess, boxing and badminton; but few expect a long distance runner from India to give the world’s best runners a run for their money. So, how do his competitors from other continents react when they see an Indian taking them on? “Frankly, they’re amazed to see an Indian among them. There isn’t a long distance runner of repute in the entire Southeast Asian region and they express their amazement at how difficult it is for someone like me to compete at that level because they understand that unlike them I’ve had no facilities and there isn’t support for the sport where I come from. They treat me with respect,” he quips.
Africa is famous for producing not just the best long distance runners but also the sheer volume of African athletes that finish among the top contenders in marathons and races around the world is staggering. Asked if motivation alone can help India produce athletes of such calibre, Arun says, “There is a entire pool of world-class runners in Ethiopia, Kenya or in any African country for that matter, only because they have had Olympic medallists and world champion runners in their countries and it gives the belief to the rest of the nation. After the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, proved their talent on the big stage there has been a huge spurt in the number of African-American girls in the US, who train and aspire to achieve what the Williams sisters have done. One achiever from among their ranks inspired their community like nothing else could.”
He cites the example of Bruce Lee to drive home his point, saying that before the legendary martial artiste came to the fore, the awareness about martial arts was pretty dismal. But after his skills gained popularity, one can today find karate and martial arts teaching classes even in the gullies of India. “Only when people see the sport will they believe that someone can run such long distances.”
But all the accolades and tribulations don’t help much when what faces him is the most difficult ultramarathon on the planet. Recognised globally as “the world’s toughest foot race”, the mere mention of Death Valley, California, and the 217-kilometre-long Badwater Ultramarathon can give most experienced long-distance runners the shudders. But Arun wears a confident smile when he talks about his preparation for the race.
And signing off whilst talking about what keeps him going during the impossible distances and unchartered courses, he says, “Universally, what doesn’t move, perishes. This thought encourages me to keep moving forward in any condition. Even when I’m fatigued I keep thinking of ways to motivate myself and tell myself that if I stop I’ll be betraying nature’s rule.”