People told him not to do it. Others called him crazy. Most didn’t even know what he was about to attempt. When he began on April 29, nearly no one paid attention to 44-year old ultra marathoner Samir Singh and his goal to run 100 kilometers a day for 100 days in a row.
“If I know anyone who could do it, Samir could,” says Kunal Kasat, a runner that Singh has trained in his work as a running coach. Ninety-five days later, Singh is well on his way to accomplishing the impossible.
In the bustling, overcrowded city of Mumbai, India, Singh wakes up at about 5 AM and runs from his home in the northern suburbs down to historic south section of the city. His favorite spot is Marine Drive, a wide stretch of road and walking path popular with runners, walkers, and love struck couples that stretches in a wide semi-circle along the Arabian Sea. He often runs back and forth along the seaside for several hours to add distance, before turning back north for a short lunch break of rice and dal—spiced Indian lentils.
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His 100-day journey began in the peak of Mumbai’s summer—with the heat index regularly soaring above 100 degrees with crushing humidity, and has continued on through monsoon season, where sideways rain and gale force winds pound anyone caught in the daily storms.
He carries a simple track phone “for emergencies only” and a few dollars worth of rupees on his runs. Along the way, he stops for coconut water—sold ubiquitously on the sidewalks of Mumbai and served straight out of the shell—rice cakes called idly, and small sweets known as laddu.
Around 4 PM, he heads out again, finishing off his remaining kilometers by evening. For 95 days straight, he’s gone to bed and only to wake up and do it all over again.
India isn’t known for running. The country of 1.3 billion people is famous for film stars and world-class cricketers, but has never produced a world champion runner. And for nearly 50 days, barely anyone took notice of Singh. Patel was his only regular support—checking in on him and providing him with a GPS watch and whey protein powder.
Singh hopes his feat will put India on the map in the world of distance running, but more than that, he is running for personal, spiritual reasons. A devout Hindu, he is motivated by devotion to the god Krishna. When he feels weak on his runs, he chants “hare Krishna” to keep going. Some supporters describe his running as a form of meditation. “Belief in Lord Krishna has taken him through this,” says Patel.
“I am a heart and soul,” says Singh, “the body is just a vehicle.” Hindu philosophy promotes the idea that the body is temporary and the soul is permanent. Pilgrimage by foot, or padayatra, is a part of this philosophy, undertaken by religious devotees as well as Mahatma Gandhi in the name of national unity.
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“He has mastered the art of dealing with his body,” says Vandana Bhatti, a filmmaker and runner who has been following Singh’s journey since she ran into him on the beach on day 47. Bhatti and her brother Vikram began documenting Singh’s run around day 60, and started a Facebook page and campaign to support his post-run recovery.
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Meeting him midday on day 86, Singh was hurting from ankle pain, but wasn’t letting it get him down. “Problems are coming,” he says, “but solutions are also coming.”
Singh says the hardest part of the run was in May, during the hottest days. “I felt everyday was the last day,” he says. He normally runs barefoot, but the heat off the pavement was burning the bottom of his feet, causing blisters. Instead of giving up, he put on a pair Vibrams and didn’t miss a day. When one knee swelled larger than the other, he swapped out a Vibram for a Nike, and now runs with two mismatched shoes.
Now, just a few days away from his goal, his spirits are higher than ever. When asked what he’s hoping to achieve with his running, he smiles and replies, “I’ll tell you when 100 days are finished.”
