Across the country in sixty days

Since those early,unexpected troubles,his run has gone on track,more or less. Halfway through his two-month journey,Bhardwaj has covered 1700km. And racking up that sort of mileage takes its toll physically. “The initial days were hard but now it is something that I am used to. Everything below my waist is sore,” he complains. What makes it easier,he says,is his style of running. “I don’t lift my legs a lot,but instead tend to shuffle,” he says.

That style,though easy on his knees,has wreaked havoc on his shoes and feet. “I’m on my fourth pair of shoes. I’m probably going to need another eight pairs by the time I finish. Also the strain has caused my feet to swell. My foot used to be a UK size 10 but now it is 10.5. It might become a size 11 or 12 before the end. I’m already having to cut the side and the front of the shoes because of the strain,” he says. Surprisingly though,running nearly 2000 kilometers hasn’t resulted in too much weight loss,with Bhardwaj,who weighed 67kg before the start of the run,losing just around 2kg.

All that effort,he says,is made worthwhile by the positive feedback he has received on his journey so far. Having passed through Dabra in Madhya Pradesh on Monday,he had to halt his run to take part in a function organised for him. “I’ve had a lot of people who think that I am crazy but plenty of people support me. Although no one has tried to run alongside me,there have been people riding on cycles or motorcycles who have accompanied me,” says Bhardwaj,who in addition to promoting ‘oneness in the country’ is also looking to instil ideals of healthy eating and living.

And while his goal of running the length of the country provokes awe and surprise among most observers,Bhardwaj says there is nothing much to it. “Anyone can do what I have done. The funny thing is that I never had an athletic background growing up. I didn’t play any sport,not even carrom. I only started running when I turned 30,after my daughter was born. I wanted to inspire my children,” says Bhardwaj,43. Indeed,between competitions,the Dwarka resident holds down a regular job with the Planning Commission,and has to take leave to run across the country. And when he says that he didn’t do much practice before undertaking the run,it must be understood that ‘not much practice’ amounts to 40km a day in between office hours.

Bhardwaj still has another 2200 km left to run as he makes his way to his final destination — Kanyakumari,on the southern tip of India. But even with as many miles as he has left,he is already planning to go one step further. “Next year I plan to run across India,from east to west. I will start off in Arunachal Pradesh and end in Gujarat,” he says.