The Giant Leap

As Indian Travellers Are Becoming More Health Conscious, They Are Opting To Run Marathons In Far-flung Places. There’s A New Trend In Travel And It’s Called A ‘run Vacation’, Manek S. Kohli Reports.

- Manek S. Kohli

Upon being asked about his decision to run his maiden marathon abroad, Mumbai-based lawyer, Venkatesh Dhond (Venky), responded with the famous saying—“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Except, there is little foolhardy about Venky’s choice. He, along with his daughter, will run the Berlin Marathon in September. One of the largest marathons in the world, it is incredibly flat and the fastest of them all, ideal for even an amateur runner. He merely wishes to finish (“Run, walk, limp, hobble…but complete the race.”), hopes for it to be a 42-kilometre-long bonding session with his daughter, and, once done, plans to enjoy the city’s attractions before taking the flight back home.

Till a few years ago, marathon tourism or ‘run-vacations’ seemed inconceivable, ridiculous even, in India. When Gauri Jayaram founded Active Holiday Company in 2014 to encourage physical activity-oriented travel, it was a task to even get 10 people to sign up for the London Marathon who did not consider the endeavour a waste of money. “On the other hand, for 2019’s Berlin Marathon, 150 Indians have already registered and 30 are on the waitlist,” she reveals. The running culture in India may be fairly new, but it has been seeing an exponential growth: far more Indians are on the trot today, looking for marathons everywhere from frigid Antarctica to underneath the midnight sun in Norway, whether to compete or complete.