Marathon man Janardan: Aiming for the moon

All eyes were fixed on Bylahalli Raghunath Janardan as he made his way to the track that Sunday morning. But unperturbed with all the attention, the 83-year-old marathon runner went about the IDBI Federal Life Insurance Mumbai Half Marathon last week in Mumbai in typical style and finished the race in under three hours. “I am quite happy with my timing,” says the oldest runner in the race. “It was a route that I am familiar with since I have previously participated in marathons here,” he says, thrilled with his new personal record. The octogenarian plans to run a marathon each month till February next year.

For Janardan, running is a chance to relive his childhood. He recalls, “When I was young, I wasn’t that active and didn’t even know what a marathon was. There were so many things that I didn’t do as a teenager. I feel like I am reliving and doing things that I didn’t attempt during my childhood days.” When Janardhan isn’t running, he is busy cycling and trekking across the Himalayas. What is more, it was after being diagnosed with epilepsy that Janardan’s life changed, for the better. The retired railway officer was on medication and was advised complete rest. He recalls, “After being diagnosed, I wasn’t allowed to step out of the house. But I wasn’t used to sitting at home since I have led an active life.”

The New Year’s Day of 1997 proved to be a fresh start for Janardan after he decided to take matters into his own hands. Janardhan took off on his bicycle without telling his family. He says, “I cycled for 40 km. I never felt as healthy as I did when I cycled. I called my family to let them know I was safe. I stopped taking the prescription medicines too. This helped me, and soon, I was doing things the way I did before I was diagnosed with the illness.”

There was resistance to this radical move. “My wife had a problem with me when I decided to go off medicines. Every other day she would either puncture the tyres or break the valve tubes. But soon she realised how determined I was,” he recalls, chuckling. Today, he cycles across Bengaluru when his family travels by car. He says, “Even if it is something like a wedding function, I always travel on my bicycle. In fact, I make sure I complete at least 53 km in a day.”

Janardan hopes to inspire youngsters in their twenties to take up running. He advises, “I was not the fittest person during my youth. Now I realise how important it is to take care of oneself. If I can be healthy, anybody can. Getting fit should be in everybody’s priority list,” he advises. Janardan is now on a mission to cycle the distance equivalent to that between the earth and the moon —384,400 km. Which means he needs to clock in another 11,000 km. He says, “I cycle around 1,900 km a month. So I should be able to complete the target in the next six months. It is a thrill for me to understand that I have covered as much distance between the earth and the moon on a bicycle.”