Three generations of a Bengaluru-based family, led by 79-year-old Rajendra Kumar Jain, came together to participate in the full marathon on Sunday.
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Mr. Jain was joined by his son Darshan (51) and grandson Tanmay (22) in the 42-km run which started at 5 a.m. from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Darshan said they were the first family to have three generations completing the full marathon together.
“We run for fitness and wish to promote fitness for all in the family. Only with a fit body and happy mind will we have a healthier society around,” he said.
Darshan said Mr. Jain had participated in the 10K run 10 times earlier, while he himself had run the half-marathon nine times. “But, this was the first time that my father ran a full marathon in six hours,” he said.
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The Jain family has been taking part in various marathons across the country for years. They have been a regular face at Procam Slam Events, consisting of the TCS 10K in Bangalore (May), the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (October), the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K (December) and Tata Mumbai Marathon.
Speaking about the uniqueness of Mumbai Marathon Darshan said, “Mumbaikars are always very supportive and thus the participants enjoy running. This is something that people from other cities should learn.”
He attributed the family’s achievement to their coach Pramod Deshpande. “In last four months my father ran around 400 km to prepare for the marathon under Mr. Deshpande’s guidance.”