Earlier this month, Kumar Ajwani, 61, finished 100 consecutive days of running. He ran an average of around 60km each day, which added up to a staggering 5,932km in all.
Each of those numbers is astounding, worthy of shock and admiration in equal measure. But Ajwani doesn’t run for fame, records or to satisfy his ego. Running for him is simply a means to bring goodness to the world, one gruelling step at a time.
“When I started, running was my passion. Today, I do it for a cause,” Ajwani says, sitting easy at his home in Mumbai, still recovering from his hearty effort.
Graduating to ultra-marathons
In 2005, Ajwani ran his first half marathon at the age of 44 and soon graduated to marathon distance (42.2 km). Seven years later, he decided to attempt his first ultra marathon - a 50km race and just 8km more than what he was routinely running by then. But a little past the 42km mark, Ajwani got sick and struggled to get to the finish. Luckily for him, a friend caught up and walked alongside him over the rest of the course.
“After every marathon, people would ask me how much I had clocked. It added too much pressure on the mind and body, and I couldn’t really enjoy the run. When it came to ultra marathons, the cutoffs were manageable, so I started doing more of those,” he says.
“And of course, chatting with my buddy over those last few kilometres was good fun,” he recalls.
A chance meeting
Ajwani continued adding the miles, which led up to a 161 km run in Kargil. It was where he bumped into a soldier en route, which eventually changed his reasons for running.
“He offered me water, just as an excuse to start a conversation. That’s what loneliness can do to you. Over time, I heard stories of these men guarding our borders in extreme conditions. I wanted to do my bit to appreciate their sacrifices,” Ajwani recalls.
New purpose
The distances had a new meaning here on. In 2019, he first ran from Mumbai to Delhi to raise funds for Army men. Ever since, he’s been working closely with the Queen Mary’s Technical Institute and the Army Sports Institute, both based out of Pune.
Once the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic was announced, Ajwani teamed up with a few friends to aid migrant workers. They soon started Team Fab Foundation to raise funds for various causes - everything from supporting paraplegic soldiers, to setting up medical facilities and upgrading educational infrastructure in the tribal belts of Maharashtra.
In January 2022, the Kashmir to Kanyakumari (K2K) run was his longest yet where he logged 3,800km. He soon started toying with the idea of running along the Golden Quadrilateral - the network of highways connecting Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.
“Speed isn’t really important on these kinds of runs, it’s more about consistency. The K2K run taught me how to be steady, without trying to focus on too many things. And that each day is a new day that brings fresh challenges. When you are doing a run for 100 days, anything can go wrong, so you have to simply set it all aside and focus on hitting the road for as long as it takes,” he says.
In the run-up to the Golden Quadrilateral run, Ajwani did two, 24-hour stadium runs, besides a 76km run to celebrate India’s 76th Independence Day and another from Mumbai to Pune. He would also walk a monthly mileage of around 400km, often in hot, humid conditions. K2K also made him realise that these efforts were more about mental readiness rather than physical preparation.
He reached out to his friend, Parwinder Singh Preet, who had run a part of the K2K route alongside him. This time around, he agreed to accompany Ajwani on the entire run. The intent was to spread awareness about the various causes they were working towards and raise funds along the way.
“I’ve seen a lot of Indians hesitate when it comes to donating money to trusts like ours. We called the run, 'Mission Hundred Days' and 'Mission Hundred Rupees'. That is all that we wanted to raise through each donor. Running for a cause gave it a wholly different meaning,” he says.
100 Days, 100 Rupees
On November 8, Ajwani and Preet started out from Mumbai at 3am. It took about a week for the duo to hit their stride. The day would begin as early as 2.30am while in the south of India, while up north, they would delay their start due to foggy conditions. A vehicle accompanied them at all times to shield them from other highway traffic and to cater to their nutrition.
“Setting off into the unknown makes the entire experience exciting since you don’t know what will come your way. The only focus is on staying on the road for nine hours or so and remaining injury-free,” Ajwani says.
A month on, a feeling of lethargy set in, especially when they had to arise predawn, the body craving for a few more hours of rest. On the east coast, their progress was impeded by strong headwinds caused by a cyclone that hit Tamil Nadu. In the north near Nasirabad, they were pounded by heavy rain that dropped the winter temperature close to zero, their misery compounded by passing trucks on the waterlogged highway.
But bumping into strangers from mofussil India alleviated their suffering. Time and again, curious onlookers would bring them to a grinding halt, as they tried to wrap their heads around just what they were trying to achieve. Once in sync with their motive, everyone from truckers to dhaba owners egged them on, a few happy to shell out a part of their hard-earned money.
“Those who didn’t have the means would contribute in other ways - a cup of tea, warm water for our bottles or some packed food for us to eat on the run. It does get boring at some point and negative thoughts do creep in, but people you meet on the road keep you motivated,” he says.
On the barren sections of the dusty highways, dhabas were often hard to find. Erratic electricity and water left them restless during a few of the halts. But come morning, Ajwani would hit the road with Preet by his side.
“He is half my age, a running coach and a lot faster. But he kept pace on the run and looked out for me like an elder brother,” Ajwani says of his running partner.
As they made their way back to the starting point, Ajwani experienced mixed emotions. While there was relief on seeing the finish line in sight, he longed to continue running for a few more days.
“This beautiful journey was now coming to an end. I felt a little empty on the inside, especially when I thought about going back to the daily routine. But ultimately, home is home,” he says.
Through the run, Ajwani could raise around Rs 22 lakh - Rs 40,000 of this was donated by those he met on the road. Just a few days after the finish, he was off to Nashik to see how he could help upgrade the lab equipment at a tribal girls’ school.
“At my age, a lot of people struggle with the basics. So, if I can put my body through the torture and bring a smile on people’s faces, I think there is nothing quite like it. I want to do it as long as I can,” he says.
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