When Gulveer Singh was a teenager, his ambition was to join the Army. In Sirsa, his village in Aligarh, there are nearly 700 men in forces. Aspiring to wear the uniform is the first career choice in Sirsa, the 26-year-old said. “Those who don’t make it try to join the police. There are about 10 to 12 policemen in Sirsa,” according to Gulveer.
Along with hundreds of other youngsters, Gulveer ran on a mud ground near his home, aiming to pass the 1.6 kilometre Physical Efficiency Test. He cleared it at a recruitment drive in Agra. Little did he know that it was the first step in his journey to become a distance runner. “My aim was to join the Army, that is why I started running. But I never thought I would run for India and win medals,” he said.
Gulveer is India’s best, the national record holder in the 5,000 metres and the 10,000 metres. He has lowered the mark in both events thrice since March last year. The 10,000 metre mark had stood for 16 years before he bettered it.
He’s qualified in the 5,000 metres for the Tokyo World Championships in September and is milliseconds from making the cut in 10,000 metres.
“My aim for the year is to run both events at the World Championships. Winning a medal at a World Championships or the Olympic Games is my long-term objective,” Gulveer said.
Destiny’s child
He has set lofty goals on track but that wasn’t the case when he started off as a sepoy. A high-altitude posting along the China border in Arunachal Pradesh was his first posting. “It used to rain and it was cold. I was there for two years,” Gulveer said, without wanting to disclose the location. To break the monotony of duty, he took a chance and participated in a 12-kilometre cross country race organised by the Army. “I was told an Army athlete gets more days of leave for training. I thought why not give it a shot,” Gulveer recalled.
To his surprise, he finished first. He was raw, not coached and without any race experience. At 21, his life changed. “There were about 60 runners in the race. Cross country is the first step towards getting selected to the Army Sports Institute (ASI). One of the senior officers spoke to Yunus Khan, the distance running coach, and recommended my name,” Gulveer said.
This was when the second Covid wave hit. So shifting base to the ASI in Pune took time. Gulveer was then posted in Ambala. Once the Covid cases dipped, he joined the ASI. A year later, in 2022, Gulveer got the self-belief that becoming a distance runner was the right choice.
At the Federation Cup in Calicut he won a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres — his first-ever medal. “That is when I felt I could achieve something by running. My family watched me on the podium via a YouTube stream and they were overjoyed. I had never won a medal before. I had never participated in the junior level. After the Federation Cup, my name was added to the national camp. The Athletics Federation of India sent me to the USA to train with coach Scott Simmons at Colorado Springs. The Reliance Foundation sponsored me,” Gulveer said.
Three training stints with Simmons, the head track coach of the US Army, helped Gulveer discover his potential. The training group at the Olympic centre is high-quality. Paul Chilemo, the two-time 5000 metre Olympic medal winner, trains on the same track. Gulveer said because of his weak English, he was unable to pick the brains of Chilemo and others but he closely watched their training routines.
In his mind, every training session is like a race. “There are athletes from the USA, Kenyan athletes and others. For me every workout run is like a competition. The first time I went to Colorado Springs two years ago, I couldn’t keep pace with the others but now I am very close to their level. My endurance has improved and so has my speed. That’s why I am able to break national records,” he said.
Yunus, the ASI coach, points to another reason why Gulveer is setting benchmarks. He’s got an exceptional VO2 Max reading, which means his body is able to use more oxygen when he’s running. “Gulveer’s VO2 Max is 80, which is very good. When he joined the ASI it was 76. Usually, most Indian distance runners have a reading of about 75 to 77. He’s improved it by training really hard and his endurance is also excellent. He is a special talent,” Yunus said.
At the Asian Athletics Championships which begin next week in Gumi, South Korea, Gulveer will aim to run the 10,000 metres in 27 minutes, the qualifying standard for the World Championships. He missed out narrowly when he rewrote his national record by clocking 27:00.22 at San Juan Capistrano in March. He rues not having Karthik Kumar, the Asian Games silver medallist, on track. Karthik was suspended after failing a dope test in April.
“Karthik is like an older brother. When I joined the ASI, he was a senior runner. At that time I didn’t know anything about running. He helped me a lot and guided me about everything, including diet. I used to ask him about everything. We were roommates in the camp and even at competitions. If he was also running with me, it would have helped. But I can’t let his absence affect me.”
Next week in Gumi, the armyman will have to chart his own course. Yet again.
Gulveer Singh, the national record holder in the 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres. (Credit: Special Arrangement) 
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