On October 2, 2014, Krishna Prasad Chigurupati turned 60. He wanted to make the year a memorable one. A family holiday was on cards. A marathon runner, he yearned to cross yet another milestone. He and his wife Uma have already earned their place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the couple that ran marathons in seven continents within a calendar year. Think of a crazy marathon idea and they seem to have done it all, almost. Ice marathon at Antarctica, North Pole and volcano marathon are just some of their achievements.
Krishna Prasad brainstormed with his friend and marathon runner/event organiser Richard Donovan and the latter formulated the first World Marathon Challenge, which will have participants running seven marathons across seven continents within seven days.
Krishna Prasad is an early riser and on most days, begins the day with a run and follows it up with yoga. He began waking up at 3.45a.m. instead of his 5 a.m. routine to prepare for the challenge. “He asked me to come along, saying we were becoming unfit. I joined him but didn’t understand where all this was leading,” says Uma. On one such day while running up and down a steep incline, Uma suffered a knee injury. And later, Krishna Prasad revealed that he had entered both their names for the World Marathon Challenge. “She felt it was impractical, given my business commitments,” says Krishna Prasad. Uma chips in, “He has been travelling 15-20 days a month and I’ve been nursing a knee injury.” Uma felt it was foolhardy to take on such a challenge and opted out, only to join much later. Then, the couple decided to participate and run half marathons at all the seven events.
They smile widely explaining how at each destination, they would change into running gear on the flight so that they would be ready for the run soon after landing. “We would reach a destination, complete the run, and be back in airport in time to take the next flight to the next continent,” says Uma.
Marathon runners adhere to a specific sleep schedule and diet before a run. Here, they had to make do, mostly, with food at airport or airlines. “We began eating at the airport so that, once on board, we could fall asleep and be fresh for the next run,” says Uma. A warm shower turned out to a luxury. Soon after the run in Madrid at a park, the team used a small shower room at a restaurant followed by freshly cooked food. “This was a welcome change after eating and showering at airports,” laughs Uma.
The World Marathon Challenge began on January 17, 9.30 a.m. Syndney Time, when they began their first run at Union Glacier, Antarctica, after which they moved to Punta Arenas, Chile, South America. The third run was in Miama, fourth in Madrid, fifth in Marrakech, sixth in Dubai and seventh in Sydney. “The adrenaline rush kept us going. We were getting energetic with each run,” says Krishna Prasad. In Dubai, the runners wolfed down biryani from Rajeev Reddy’s leisure club.
The couple’s feat is humungous when one factors in how marathon running has gained popularity only in recent years in Hyderabad. Even a decade ago, they drew curious looks from people around them. “People thought we were crazy to be running, in between work commitments. We met several runners who took sabbaticals from work to indulge in adventure. European runners participating in marathons in the North and South poles get to practice in special, giant freezer zones. When we ran at Antarctica for the first time, we had no prior exposure. We were told precisely how many layers of clothing to wear. You have to run at a certain pace; slowing down or halting can cause sweat to get frozen. The fall in body temperature can lead to frost bites,” says Uma.
This time, the run at Antarctica was the first and they were glad to be done with one of the toughest runs. The last one, Sydney, brought in anxious moments. “Each of us had a pacer to guide us since we were running at night. The pacer who guided Uma lost his way and I was searching for her,” says Krishna Prasad. Uma recollects with a tinge of amusement how she found her way back from the woods to the waterfront to join fellow runners. She brushes aside concerns of safety and says, “We’ve gone beyond the stage of worrying about running at night. We’ve run in Africa, exposed to the wilderness. Nothing scares us anymore.”
Krishna Prasad is 60 and Uma, 53, and they admit they didn’t take medical clearance for the World Marathon Challenge. “Most doctors in India would shoot down such an idea. Since we’ve been running for years, we went ahead,” says Uma. She has recently begun strength training apart from yoga while her husband believes in yoga for both stretching and muscle endurance.
