India’s grand-old marathon man Ashis Roy has completed his 105th marathon, finishing the Self-Transcendence Marathon on a scenic, flat and fast loop around Rockland Lake, New York in six hours and 29 minutes.
In Tuesday’s marathon at Congers, Roy, who turned 78 June 1, clipped 14 minutes from his last run in the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Indiana, in pouring rain in June.
The weather was perfect, a cool cloudy with a strong breeze blowing, Roy told IANS over the phone, “Very happy” at finishing the first half in three hours, seven minutes and thirty seconds, his fastest in the last two years.
The oldest runner in the marathon, Roy was given a special trophy in recognition of his feat of running hundred marathons even as he finished second in the 70+ group.
The veteran Indian runner, who completed his 100th marathon in Mumbai January 17, has no plans to hang his boots yet. He plans to run his next marathon in Rochester, New York on September 12.
Roy, who has penned a book on “Joy of Running” is listed in the Limca Book of Records, and has, to date, competed in 37 marathons in India and 68 marathons in 20 other countries, including the International Veterans Marathon in Athens in 1986.
Roy, a resident of New Delhi, began running marathons at the age of 52 when he retired as a cardiologist with the Indian Air Force.
