New Delhi: He was pushed and fell on the running track and got trampled by another runner. But Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) commandant Mukesh Kumar had a glorious finish in the Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa where he finally celebrated with the Indian flag.
Kumar says he cannot express his feelings with his performance and the thunderous crowd support.
The marathon started in 1921 after World War I in South Africa with the tagline "Ultimate Human Race". Since inception, every year this energy-sapping race is organised alternately from Pietermaritzburg to Durban or vice-versa. This year's edition was for 90 long km.
Kumar explained how he made it to the marathon.
"It is dream run for every distance runner, requires a year long very high level of training, coaching, appropriate diet, discipline and rest," Kumar told UNI.
"However, my situation was a bit different. My deployment in Kashmir left me with the only option of occasional self training. The ultimate responsibility of a commander in an action-packed theatre reinforced my resolve to train harder for the race.
"My passion connected me with great motivator David Gogin (toughest living being on the planet) for training. I learnt a lot from him through Facebook and Instagram," he said.
The Commandant said he had qualified for the race in 2020 but it was postponed due to Covid-19.
Notification with a fresh qualifying time was released this year and he registered for it after achieving a record time in Jaipur in March.
In Durban, Kumar got a shock when he interacted with world class athletes.
"To my utter dismay, I found myself seriously lacking in quality training. But my confidence was at its peak, which I attained through the training I endured at my place of posting," Kumar said.
"On the day of race, more than 1,600 participants were rubbing shoulders to compete with each other. There were eight sections, A To H . B section has the disadvantage of starting late by a couple of minutes.
"I was in the B section... Approximately after two kilometers of run, I got pushed by a fellow runner due to the crowd of runners. I fell down. Someone trampled on me. But I managed to get up and resumed running."
The first cut off time of 2 hours and 40 minute was covered by Kumar in 1 hour. "Then on I just cruised ahead with the ever enthusing cheers from the crowd."
"Donning the T shirt with our national flag was an eternal inspiration. Spectators could see my name on my T-shirt. The cheers continued: ‘India, India! Come on India!'
"I kept on adding mile after mile... The pride I experienced when the crowd was cheering my name and India’s name is beyond expression.
"Reaching the Durban stadium was a magical experience for me. It was jam packed and gave the ultimate push to me to hit the radiant. An unparalleled experience over all," the Commandant said.
He said: "I felt blessed to put the Indian national flag on my shoulders at a foreign land. I can’t express my feelings in words. It was an amazing experience which I dedicated to cancer patients."
He expressed his gratitude to Commandant Indrani Yadav and Nilesh Bajaj who made his pre-event stay comfortable at Mumbai and to his organisation SSB, which backed him and gave him the chance to participate in this tough marathon. (UNI)