In 2012, when Lt Col Sundaresan R. retired from the Indian Army after his 23-year-long service, he had one aim in his mind. He wanted to rekindle his childhood passion for long-distance running. “It has been my passion right from my childhood. But, when I joined the Army, I couldn't follow it. When I retired, I thought I would pursue my passion,” says Sundaresan, a native of Mumbai, who is on a mission of running 50 full marathons in 50 weeks over 50 locations or routes.
Having begun his journey on 11 December 2016, he has so far completed 48 full marathons (42.195 km) in 48 consecutive weeks, covering 22 states and Union Territories. The Spice Coast Marathon that takes place in Kochi today is his 49th marathon.
He has run in places like Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry, Gurgaon, Shimla, Delhi, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Patiala, Amritsar, Dehradun, Sikkim, Guwahati, Manipur and Kargil.
“The idea was to run 50 marathons in 50 different locations,” says Sundaresan, who has just landed in Kochi for the marathon. He is hopeful about the marathon. “I have heard a lot about this marathon. I am definitely going to enjoy this. People have been telling me about the humidity here, which may pose a challenge. But, I am ready to confront it,” adds Sundaresan, who is also a qualified marathon trainer from the American College of Sports Medicine. He has run in many marathon and ultra marathon events including the tough COMRADES ultra marathon in South Africa in May 2016, covering a distance of 89 km over five mountains. He completed the course in 11 hours 52 minutes.
He is running not just to fulfill his passion but also for a cause. The theme of his mission is 'run with a soldier, run for a soldier', which stemmed from his service in the Indian Army. During his tenure in the Army, he had served in places like Poonch, Siachen Glacier, Doda, and Srinagar. So far, he has raised '20 lakh from his mission for martyred soldiers. “I have seen the plight of families of martyred soldiers and have always felt that it is the duty of the citizens to take care of those families. Hence, took up this cause,” explains Sundaresan.
Besides marathons, he addresses corporate offices, educational institutions and running clubs to create awareness about the Army, physical fitness, marathons and his mission.
