Against all odds: At 58, oncologist completes 24 marathons with no signs of stopping

Kurlekar is a consulting surgeon doing laparoscopic and cancer surgery at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital Pune. On March 5, 2023 Kurlekar received the Abbott Six Star medal, an which one receives after completing six world major marathons. He first started in London in 2016, Berlin in 2017, Boston and Chicago in 2018, New York in 2019, and, as the pandemic happened, he completed his last marathon in Tokyo in 2023. He has completed 18 other marathons too.

Kurlekar said he was never a sports persons and only started running at the age of 49. “A few batchmates from B J Medical College, Pune had got together and during the conversation one of our friends asked, ‘As we approach 50 what are your future plans?’ Everyone gave various answers but I had something else in mind. I decided to do something for myself, something unique and achievable, irrespective of economic status. So I decided to get myself to a level of fitness to run a full marathon, as it is considered an extreme sport at the age of 50 and running does not require any special status. That motivated me to start running from 3 km to 5km to 10km and then a half marathon. When I was about to turn 50, I ran in the Pune and Mumbai Marathons and as a gift for myself, I ran the first London Marathon,” said Kurlekar.

Kurlekar said being an oncologist and running marathons was a huge task for him and required massive dedication, but he still managed to do it.

“My mother always used to say that if you want to do something in life you always find time. ‘I don’t have time’ is a statement you tell people because you don’t want to do it. That thought was there in my mind and then I started my training by getting up at 5 am in the morning to go for a run or to the gym. Sometimes when I do a long distance run, I start my training at 3-3:30am.”

According to Kurlekar the most challenging marathon was the Everest Base Camp Marathon, which he did 2022. “To start the Marathon, you first have to climb the Everest base camp trek, do the Everest base camp trek, acclimatise there, then you stay there in tents. Coming down an elevation of 2,700 metres took me about 12 and half hours. That was the most challenging part for me.”

“For any person, whether they are in the medical profession or not, staying fit physically and mentally is vital. Apart from physical exercise, I run alone and it’s a meditative thing for me. You can think of what went wrong, where you can improvise. I don’t listen to music while running, I just keep on going, looking around… it helps me keep my mind stable.”

“Despite having completed so many marathons, I still ask myself ‘why am I doing this?’ Running isn’t a professional thing for me nor am I earning any money out of it. But it keeps me going and tests one’s mental strentgth.”

Kurlekar said having no sports background, he faced certain difficulties. “Initially, I used to get tired a lot. People used to tell me I need to undergo knee joint replacement, but I don’t think like that. The skeletal muscles help you for a longer time. Now it helps me to stay fit.”

Kurlekar followed a protein diet of home cooked food. He ran at 5:30 in the morning for two hours and recently started a gym.

Kurlekar’s memorable marathon was the New York marathon. He said, “The crowd there was amazing. Another experience was at the Arctic circle, when an ice glacier had run on to hard ice rock. Due to a slushed road, I slipped and fell down but I did not stop. As a surgeon you do many surgeries. You plan something and something different happens, you improvise on the go.”

Kurlekar is planning to go to New Zealand’s North Island in January 2025 for his next marathon.