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Running 171km in a day is cakewalk for him

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Arun Bhardwaj at a city hotel on Wednesday
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What comes to your mind when someone asks if you can run a full marathon (42 km)? Tiredness, dehydration, or perhaps the thought of every joint in your body aching? Now imagine running 171 kms in 24 hours on a treadmill. Shocked?

Well, not so for 45-year-old Arun Bhardwaj, country's most decorated ultramarathoner, who will attempt this feat.

Why 171 kms you may ask. Well, that is his current record on a treadmill. Running 171 kms isn't a big deal for Bhardwaj, who finds running on a treadmill boring. "It's monotonous," he says. After all, he is the only person in the world to run the length of India: Kargil to Kanyakumari (4,100 kms) in 61 days.

One might think Bhardwaj is a born runner but it's not so. when he was in standard nine, he weighed just 29 kg and had a tumour in his neck. He had to have four operations to remove the tumour. He recovered, got married at age 27 and discovered his love for running at 29.

What led to that transformation of this athlete? "I wanted to set an example for my daughter, to make her believe that anything is possible. I wanted to be her inspiration, and I wanted to do something different, something that Indians don't really do."

The decision to run came after he read South African 5,000m legend Zola Budd's book. He was so inspired by the book, that he named his daughter Zola.

"I saw many parents name their kids after Kapil Dev after the 1983 World Cup. I want my daughter to become a successful Olympian but I decided I would be her role model," said Bhardwaj, who works for the central government in the newly-formed Niti Aayog.

To run such long distances takes a lot of energy, both mental and physical. "It's more mental," he says. But how does he get that mental energy then?

"I think about my mother and all mothers around the world. They never tire. When come home hungry, has your mother not prepared something to eat, no matter how tired she is? I've heard that childbirth is the most painful thing in the world. If a mother can endure so much, then surely I shouldn't complain about tiredness when running."

What separates a marathoner from an ultramarathoner ? "When a person is tired, and decides to stop, I don't. I continue to run, and that's the difference," he says.

"It's all in the mind. Your mind tells you that you cannot run any more. Try disobeying your mind and continue running. I'm sure your mind will get accustomed to running long distances then."

In 2010, Bhardwaj ran and won the George Archer 6-day race (567 kms) in South Africa. That's a story in itself.

"I'm a pure vegetarian, and the canteen at that race had only non-vegetarian items. Luckily, I had carried a lot of fruits and half a bottle of honey with me. On the fourth day, I had only a few fruits left. So I ran alternating one spoon of honey and a glass of water every kilometre. On the last day, the organisers had arranged for some vegetarian food, but by then, my mind was already set on winning the race."

Bhardwaj set many records winning that race. He became the first Indian to win any 6-Day Race. He was also the first South Asian to cross 350 miles in 6-days. More importantly, the win got him an invitation to participate in the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, California, USA, which has been deemed by National Geographic as the toughest organised race in the world. He was the first Indian to participate in the event and completed the 217 kms course in 41.06 hours.

Bhardwaj doesn't fuss too much about his diet, though he tries to eat healthy food. A vegetarian and teetotaller, his favourite foods include honey, fruit juice, banana and sugar cane.

Nothing seems to scare him. He doesn't shy away from running those extra miles, quite literally. The only tough part about ultrarunning is "leaving my kids at home."

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