In February this year, GoodNewsIndia received a mail from Mr.Phil Essam, an Australian. He wrote:

“In November last year, Arun Kumar Bhardwaj from New Delhi visited Australia to compete in the Australian 6-day running race. Even though he didn’t do as well as he wanted to, he certainly endeared himself to the Australians that met him and he was a fantastic Ambassador to your country. He is the only known Ultra runner in India and has to go overseas to compete. Here is a copy of his story from that race . It would certainly raise the profile of the sport in your country if you were to feature him on your web site.”

Phil also sent a link to a story on Arun’s adventures in the UltraMarathon meet. Reading it , one’s admiration grew for this rare Indian. This 33 year old is a clerk in the Planning Commission at Delhi and has devoted himself for years to endurance running.

But that is no preparation for the impossible sounding UltraMarathon. Each day a participant must cover a minimum of 65 km! He shall not remain off track for more than six hours per day in all. Add to that, the facts that Arun is a vegetarian, had never been exposed to such an event, it was biting cold and he could not afford to pay for minders to travel with him. He says he was driven by the motivation to make his daughter Zola proud of him. He ended up making India proud. Read the full story at this link.

And when you are done do send your appreciation to Arun, and to Phil Essam for championing this modest, gritty Indian.