10 most famous Indian marathon runners of all time

We have all watched and marveled at “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, applauding the determination of the great athlete Milkha Singh. But our nation has produced several gems in the running discipline over the years.We bring to you, the top 10 runners from India of all time. These are names that deserve to go down in history books. We would like to point out that the criterion for the selection was popularity and not performance.

#1 Budhia Singh (Prodigy)

Though he shares his last name with the flying Sikh, Budhia SIngh is far from his contemporary. He was born in the year 2002 and is the worlds youngest marathon runner. Yes, you read that right; he is currently just 12 and has already participated in several marathons. By the tender age of four, Budhia had already run in 48 marathons. He comes from a background of hardship, with his mother first selling him away to a salesman.

Biranchi Das, a Judo coach, rescued him and brought him to his home. He discovered the boys peculiar talent when one day, he punished him for being mischievous by telling him to run. However, he forgot about Budhia running and later, upon remembering came back to find him still running after five and a half hours.

Budhia has been interviewed by several national and International media organizations, with an Emmy nominateddocumentary funded by HBO and BBC on him, titled Marathon Boy being made on his life. He entered the Limca Book of World Records in 2006 for running 65 kms from Puri to Bhubeshwar.

#2 Major D P Singh (disabled)

Life seemed to have come to a standstill for Major D P Singh when a shell exploded near him during the Kargil conflict, resulting in him losing his right leg. He, however, refused to let life hand him a hard hand, rising from the ashes like a phoenix to become the blade marathon runner of India. Singh required 10 long and painful years to recover from his crippling injury. But he didnt give up hope. After having the blade fitted to his amputed leg, he began practicing and training for running marathons. SInce then, there was no looking back for this fiery man, who has participated in every edition of the Delhi Half marathon, even clocking a commendable 2 hours 40 minutes at the event.

Singh continues to be an inspiration to athletes across the country and the world with his cheerful demeanour and steel-determination.

#3 Fauja Singh (Over 90)

With this name, a hat-trick of Singhs has officially been completed in this list so far. Fauja Singh is widely popular in the global running community as the centenarian marathon runner. He is a British-Indian and was born in the year 1911. At the age of 100, he managed to accomplish 8records in day for his age group. They were in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, the mile, 3000 and 5000 meterevents. In 2011, he also became the worlds first 100 year old person to successfully finish a marathon, completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a little over 8 hours. In 2013, he competed at the Hong Kong marathon at the age of 101.

He was one of the torch bearers for the 2012 London Olympics and was recentlyawarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for service to sports and charity. Fauja SIngh is a living testimony to the fact that age is no bar for fitness and sports.

#4 Arun Bhardwaj (Professional)

While marathons themselves are sporting events that require tons of endurance, there is something called the Ultramarathon which takes it all to a whole new level altogether. And Arun Bhardwaj is the first internationally accliamed ultramarathon runner from India. An ultramarathon is an event which involves running for a distance greater than the traditional full marathon42.195 kms length. It may also involve covering as much distance as possible within a set time.

In 2009, Bhardwaj was put on the global running map when he won the 567 kms George Archer 6 day race in South Africa. Later in 2010, the 40 something athlete ran a whopping 186.4 kms in just 24 hours, beating his earlier best of 177 kms in the same time period. He has laso successfully completed the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, California in the US, which has been named as the toughest race in the world by National Geographic. Bhardwaj registered a time of around 41 hours on his first attempt.

Bhardwajs much lauded K2K project involved him running from Kargil to Kanyakumari to spread the message of unity and One India. He completed this historic run in 2 months in the year 2012 and wants to run from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh next.

#5 Ashok Nath (Amateur)

One of the finest veteran marathon runners from India, Ashok Nath already has several Boston marathons under his belt. He ran the Lipton Bangalore International Marathon in 2005 and sincethen, he has gone on to win many others in citiesincluding Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Nath was the CEO of a brand management company before he left his high-paying job to become a full-time running mentor. Nath is a champion of the fitness and healthy living cause, asserting that Indians have a lot to learn from the running culture abroad.

One of his major goals is to compete in the top 5 marathons of the world; Boston, New York, London, Chicago and Berlin of which he has already completed Boston several times.

#6 Ashis Roy (Over 80)

Close on the heels of Fauja SIngh is another man whose age is no hurdle for him when it comes to running marathons. Ashis Roy recently completed the 13.1 mile run in the Navy Air Force Half Marathon in Washington, his 23rdhalf marathon and his 138thmarathon so far. At the ripe age of 82, Roy was easily the oldest participantin the event, but that didnt deter him from finishing the full length of the race successfully, clocking a time close to 3 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds.

Proving to the world that no age is too late to begin exploring ones passion for running, Roy started participating in marathons at the age of 52. By the time he attained 75 years of age, he had managed to compete in a staggering 82 races and completed his 100thmarathon in January 2010. Roy is a retied Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force and by 2013, he had finished his 115thmarathon in Mumbai. He has also authored a book titled The Joy of Running.

#7 Shivnath Singh (Professional)

Born in 1946, Shivnath Singh went on to become one of the best long distance runners that ever came from our country. Singhs greatest feat is perhaps the national record in marathon of 2 hours and 12 minutes which was accomplished in 1976,has not been broken to this date. He brought laurels to our nation on the international sporting platform, clinching the silver medal in both 5000 m and 10,000 m at the 1973 Asian Championships in Manila. In the year 1974, he went on to win the gold medal in the 5000 m event at the Asian Games in Tehran; an achievement for which he was later given the prestigious Arjuna Award.

Silver medals at the 1975 Asian Championships in Seoul followed, after which he started competing in the marathon in which he achieved success.

He passed away on June 6, 2003, leaving behind an indelible mark on the face of running on the Indian sports front.

#8 Ram Singh Yadav (Professional)

After Shivnath Singh, it was Ram Singh Yadav who became he second Indian runner to ever qualify for the marathon event at the summer Olympics. After missing the qualification mark i.e. 2 hours 18 minutes by a mere 23 seconds at the time of the Beijing summer Olympics, Yadav trained rigorously for the London 2012 Olympics and managed to clocka time of 2 hours 16 minutes and 39 seconds at the Mumbai marathon.

Yadav comes from a humble background, with his father working as a fruit seller and him being employed as a Hawaldar in the Indian Army. Despite any shortcomings, he has shown true grit and immense will-power to emerge as one of the rising stars of Indian running.

#9 Lalita Babar (Professional)

Currently the national record holder in the 3000 m Steeplechase event, after clocking a time of 9.35.37 at the 2014 Asia Games in Incheon, South Korea and breaking Sudha SInghs record, Lalita Babar is one of the top long distance feamle runners in the country today.

Babar, who earlier focused on marathons and managed to complete a hat-trick of winning the Mumbai Marathon in 2014, decided to switch to the 3000 m steeplechase event in order to boost her chances of winning a medal. Her decision turned out to be anhandsomely rewarding one as she clicnched the bronze medal in Incheon, apart from setting a new national record. Babar, who hails from a humble family in Satara, Maharashtra is employed as a ticket checker in the Central Railways and is currently the next big thing in womens long distance running in India.

#10 Sudha Singh (Professional)

Before Lalita Babar came along and broke the exisiting national record in the 3000 m steeplechase event, Sudha Singh was the reigning queen in India when it came to long distance running. Despite losing her national record, Singh continues to be one of the topmost women athletes of our time in the country. Among the many feathers in her cap, the most prominent ones include a gold medal at the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China in the year 2010, a silver medal in the Asian Championships of 2009 and 2011 and representing India at the 2012 London Olympics in the 3000 m steeplechase event.

Singh continues to compete in marathons across the country, winning quite a few of them andclocking impressive times. She is definitely one to watch out for.