TUMKUR: After his retirement, octogenarian H Rame Gowda has been running for 23 years and his ambition to excel has prevailed even after his medal tally crossed 150.
Born to a farming family at Kodigehalli in Turuvekere taluk in 1932, he joined the Visveswaraya Iron and Steel Limited (VISL) at Bhadravathi and retired as furnace engineer.
He dreamt of achieving remarkable heights and chose running in 1990 at the age of 58.
He practised for two years before taking part in competitions.
Since he entered the fray, he has never returned empty-handed.
He has won 190 medals, including 151 golds in athletic meets for veterans across the country.
He has represented the country in Masters Athletic Meets in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand among others and grabbed many medals.
His most memorable one is the 20 km half marathon at Manipur five years ago.
“I ran even in the rain. By the time I finished, my track suit was dry,” he said.
The latest one was the Masters Meet at Mangalore where he came first in the 400 and 200 metres race.
He doesn’t want to hang up his boots and is planning to take part in the Masters Athletics Meet to be held in Bangalore.
“I will never give up as I started late. In fact I am planning to take to javelin and discus throw,” he said.
Gowda has no regrets after having sold three sites bought through his hard earned money to meet his travel expenses, except for the fact that no state awards have come his way.