An Indian On Mission Impossible: To Run 10,000 km In 100 Days

He’s called ‘The Faith Runner’ for a good reason.

There is no stopping Samir Singh.

(Photo courtesy: Vikram Bhatti)

Samir Singh wakes up at 4 am and he has the most unusual day ahead of him.

The 44-year-old has to clock a 100 km run through the busy streets of Mumbai. His aim is to cover 10,000 km in 100 days. Nothing less.

Samir is from Madhya Pradesh and came to Mumbai hoping to make films and be a part of Bollywood.

Somewhere along the way, he discovered his passion for running.

The Facebook page, created by ad man Vikram Bhatti and dedicated to Samir, has crowned him ‘The Faith Runner’.

Samir’s daily schedule looks something like this:

• 4am-5am - Wake up, freshen up, pray, eat, hydrate.
• 5am-1pm - Run Time, covers 60-75km.
• 1pm-3pm - Lunch break, rest, bath.
• 4pm-5pm - Walks to get his body started again.
• 5pm-8pm - Run Time, covers the balance 40-25km

A record of Samir’s run is kept by his Garmin watch which tracks the distance he has covered via GPS.

Samir began to race towards his goal on 29 April 2017 and has already run over 7,500 km in 75 days.

The Faith Runner Facebook page describes Samir’s “preparation” phase in these words:

“He understood that preparation was key and Mumbai was not the place for it. However, he did not have the resources for extensive training. Being a devotee of Lord Krishna, he approached his guru, H.G. Radhika Kanhai Prabhu ji, at ISKCON Temple in Juhu, Mumbai. Prabhu ji advised him to go to Vrindavan, U.P., and was kind to book him a room for his initial stay in a Krishna temple. Thus, the holy town of Vrindavan became Samir’s training ground for the gruelling challenge that he was going to undertake upon his return.

He lived in Vrindavan from November 2016 to March 2017. Instead of running random loops in the town, he chose to do parikrama of the holy town, building both endurance and focus. His route included 10km parikrama of Vrindavan, 21km run to Radha Kund, 24km parikrama of Govardhan, and finally 21km return to Vrindavan, roughly covering 75km. He did this 3-4 days a week, slowly increasing it to 5-6 days towards the end. His stay at Vrindavan also included temple duties.

Once sure of his ability, he returned to Mumbai on 22 March, 2017. He shared his plan with his friends again and was met with similar discouragement. Finally, his clients Kunal Kasat and Sandeep Chaudhary came forward to support him and gave the financial help required for such a long drawn challenge. Kunal even bought him a Garmin watch, which Samir uses to track the distance and daily uploads the data on his Facebook page.

After a few 100km test runs, and with the blessings of Lord Krishna, on 29th April 2017, Samir Singh finally undertook what he had conceived - 100km x 100days challenge.”

Here’s why he’s called ‘The Faith Runner’:

“Founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1997, The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is the longest certified footrace in the world, held in New York. The Athletes have to meet their goal of 3100 miles (4,988.9km) in 52 days, logging an average of 59.6 miles (91km) per day.

Considering that this race is the 'The Mount Everest of ultra marathons’, as The New York Times has called it, on Day-50, Samir Singh not only covered that distance but by Day-66 he has already outrun it by 1000 miles. By the time he completes his ‘100km x 100days’ challenge, he would have run the longest footrace in the world twice, back to back. That’s why we call him 'The Faith Runner'; his feat is beyond stamina or skill!”

We’re cheering for you, Samir!

(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at [e-mail] or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)