BENGALURU: When we call Dharmendra Kumar, he is in Assam, hoping to reach Guwahati by the evening. The ultra-marathon runner and coach started a journey from Sultanpur Lodhi in March, reached Bihar few days ago and within the next 10 days or so, he would have made it to Kolkata as well. But of the 2,300km journey between Sultanpur Lodhi and Guwahati, Kumar has covered 1,750km on foot, spent alternating between running and walking.
Kumar is not a nomadic traveller. Instead, the man is on a mission to raise funds to feed 10 lakh children for one year. Currently on leg one of his journey, he aims to wrap up the initiative by August.The idea struck him in November last year, when he found a map that disclosed the route Guru Nanak travelled on. He was intrigued to try the same but didn’t want the initiative to just be a run. “I was surprised at the severity of the hunger crisis in India. Unlike education or other causes, this problem is more immediate, with people dying without something as basic as two meals a day. And since gurudwaras have always been known for langars and how many people they feed a day, I thought it would be an apt cause to associate with,” explains the 40-year-old from Bengaluru.
Kumar’s plan took off in March this year, with him covering close to 55km a day. The total distance would be around 12,000km and would take him through the North, East, North-East, Central, South and West of India, covering almost all states of the country.
The runner’s day begins at 3am and he’s ready to hit the road by 4.30am. He prefers to run on an empty stomach and halts for breakfast between 8am and 9.30am, with another pit stop for lunch at 2pm. “I usually run for the first 10km, then run and walk for the next 11. Post that, it’s mainly walking. If it’s too hot, I’ll stop for a while before wrapping up my day at around 6.30pm,” he reveals. On a good day, Kumar covers more than 55km but sometimes, he has settled for less too.
Kumar has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation and has managed to raise funds for 301 children.
Travelling 55km a day, however, is not an easy task. Kumar is accompanied by a driver and a car he has rented. Food, stay and a shoestring budget that is funded by him prove to be bigger challenges. Kumar has suffered two stomach upsets, the first leaving him unable to run for three days. “I have only some fruit and dry fruit in my car. But there are times when I’m running through stretches with no restaurant in sight so a substantial meal is difficult to find,” he says, adding that running through 40 degrees Celsius is also a hard task.
But the one thing that keeps him going is his commitment to the cause. He can often be found jotting down notes on his phone as he walks through new places every few days. “I’ve been writing down my experiences, and hope to publish them sometime,” he says.