Soldierathon

He is a doctor. And a power lifter. And a public speaker. And a Limca Book record holder. But ask officers from the Para Regiment and they remember him as a Special Forces officer. All identities have merged into one. Sometimes I feel that he values the Balidan badge more than his MBBS degree. He never speaks about his days at AFMC, Pune. His batch-mates do. Well, you have to be pretty smart to get into AFMC. You would normally associate a geek with such a career option.

What happens when you go to a doctor complaining of a stomachache? The last thing you expect is for the doctor to prescribe a 5 km sprint with 200 push-ups. Not unless you happen to be in Special Forces. And not unless your doctor happens to be a crazy fitness freak who spent his time in operations in Kashmir, rather than some sterile OPD.

Major (Dr.) Surendra Poonia is remembered in his regiment for many things.

“Sir, what about a marathon?” asked Sunny suddenly. We were sitting down at a coffee shop somewhere in New Delhi after attending a veteran’s function in which both of us were invited.

“Well, what about it?” I asked, going for the third large slice of pizza.

“Soldiers are heroes. There must be something by which we can remember them and something that allows an Indian to be a part of their lives”, Sunny said.

“Great idea”, I said, disinterestedly. To be honest, Sunny’s idea of fun is to run 15 kilometers, swim for an hour and then do weights. While I have lots of friends from SF, two of them are especially close to me. The other guy climbs mountains for recreation. This other friend has climbed Mt. Everest twice. Or it is thrice? Well, both my friends are from the same state and the same regiment. Too much of a coincidence!

I, on the other hand, am a bookworm. Eliot, Shelly, Gorky, Dostoevsky, Milton, Dickens, Homer, Verne, Steinbeck and Masters are my companions. I live in the past.

Soon, coffee and pizzas were gulped down and we, with the warm embrace of soldiers, bid goodbye.

Weeks flew by and I was busy traveling for Patriot. My flight landed at T3 in New Delhi and I switched on my phone. Hundreds of WhatsApp messages streamed in. There was just one message from Sunny.

“Jai Hind, Sir. We will call it Soldierathon”.

Suddenly it hit me. The marathon bug had bit deep. It was a reality.

Sunny and a small team of volunteers have worked like people possessed. Content, permission, website, social media, finances…the never-ending cycle of crafting what they want Soldierathon to be; India’s most different marathon.

Soon, serving soldiers joined in. And celebrities. And the not so famous. The sheer pull of Soldierathon is just too strong.

You don’t have to wear a uniform to be a soldier. It’s an emotion. Some have it, some don’t. Those who turn up for Soldierathon on that day are those who wear that emotion on their sleeve.

I will be at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 11 March 2018, cheering the runners as I gobble up a few miles myself. I have another responsibility, too. I will have to keep reminding Sunny that he is the creator and organizer of Soldierathon, and not just a participant. He has called a few of his Para SF friends to take part in Soldierathon. Yes, the same guys who run miles and climb mountains for fun. With them, you never know.

See you there, friends. And there is still time…you can register here http://www.soldierathon.com/register/

Jai Hind.

Major Gaurav Arya (Veteran)

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