60 full marathons in 60 consecutive days…in other words, running 42.2 kms every day for 60 days, thereby setting a new Guinness World Record, is what 50 year old Ashish Kasodekar achieved on 26th January 2022.

I remember interviewing him in 2019 when he ran 555 kms in the tenth edition of La Ultra -The High, in the cold, desert mountains of Ladakh.

“My competition is only with myself, and with no one else, and that is what I am setting my mind to,” is what he had told me. And being the only Indian to finish 555 kms in 126 hours and 18 minutes, Ashish mentioned that it was the many people cheering from him across India that gave him the energy to finish that magnificent feat. He crossed the finish line holding an Indian flag, along with his crew members.

And here is Ashish again, calling his 60 marathons in 60 days, a celebration, a “Festival of Running.” Celebrating the joy of living, of community, of kinship, of spirit and passion, of accomplishments big and small, of stories that touch the heart, of having the purpose of spreading happiness, of infusing people with enthusiasm and energy to move and get active, and of coming together to make one person’s dream come true.

In 60 days, about 2500 people ran different distances with Ashish, people who had never run before, people who celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, mother-daughter duos, senior citizens, a man from the Army who injured his spinal cord and was in a wheelchair, who wanted to do his first full marathon with Ashish, and he did. Thirty to forty people did their first full marathons with him, and many did their first ever 5k, 10k, 20k, 42.2 kms who were inspired by Ashish’s dream.

It all started with a celebration of Ashish’s milestone 50th birthday last year.

“Divya, you must hear this punch line I came up with.” I was all ears.

“Die to live.” He said. “There is so much more to life than just paying bills. There has to be one thing you do that must bring you happiness. For me it is running, for others it could be whatever they choose to do. But be happy doing it.”

His 50th birthday celebration started with planting 50 trees, and then he came up with the idea of running 50 full marathons in 50 days.

But wait, the current Guinness record is of 59 marathons in 59 days, so might as well try and beat that. The only difference was that it wasn’t for himself. Ashish wanted to build a community of people who came together, to cheer, to participate, and to realize that they had it within themselves to run the distances of anything between 5 and 42 kms. He wanted to hear peoples’ stories, their reasons for running, their life stories, he wanted to set an example and get people to move, so even if they came to cheer him on, before they knew it, they did a 5 km lap with him. His method was such that it naturally made people join him.

Ashish ran the track at the Pune University. One loop was 5 kms so he would keep meeting different people at the start line who ran different distances with him as he repeated the loops. People had travelled from all across India to run with him. One such man was Sushil, who had reached Pune the night before from Lucknow, had borrowed a cycle from his friend, reached Pune University, slept for a couple of hours while waiting for Ashish and his team to arrive at 5:30 AM. Sushil ran the full marathon in an astonishing time of 3 hours and 5 minutes, and as Ashish invited him for lunch and to spend some time with him, Sushil’s simplicity stood out. He is a cook for a family, who support his love for running and sponsor his marathons wherever he chooses to run. So while he would have loved to take up the lunch invite, he needed to return his friend’s bicycle and head back to Lucknow the same day. There were people like these who motivated Ashish daily.

“I did not set an alarm for a single day in these 60 days. I would wake up on my own at 4:30 AM and start my runs by 6 AM. It was the anticipation of meeting everyone who showed up, whose stories I heard, who touched my life, that gave me the energy to run, every day.”

I asked Ashish how he prepped for 60 days of consecutive marathons. Focus and discipline were his influencers. He slept well, ate well, emphasized on recovery after each run, and again revelled in the energy from the community that came together and shaped his life too in ways which even he had never imagined. He underwent medical check ups every few days to make sure his parameters and vitals were all normal.

And so, 60 days and 60 marathons were done. But that wasn’t enough. Ashish did a 61st marathon just for himself, to test his endurance and see in what time he finished it, just on a whim. And while he averaged 5.5 hours per run for those 60 days, walking and running and encouraging people to run along, his 61st was in a record 3 hours and 45 minutes.

You would think someone like Ashish would have been running for decades. So I asked Ashish about his entry into running. In 2013 he ran his first run of 15 kms, and from 2015 he did three full marathon (and a tad bit more) distances, twice ran the Comrades (90 kms) in South Africa, and then onwards it was running the ultra distances at La Ultra The High in the Himalayas: 111 kms in 2017, 333 kms in 2018, and 555 kms in 2019. I haven’t known anyone like Ashish, who has such a steep trajectory as far as running performance goes.

So what’s next, I asked.

The Badwater Ultramarathon in California’s Death Valley, a distance of 217 kms, with temperatures ranging from 50-54C is where Ashish is headed to in July.

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough…” Drive, dedication, and discipline,” are must haves when it comes to starting any journey, be it running or whatever you choose to do with passion.” That piece of advice stayed with me.

Any life lessons from this experience?

“The Himalayas taught me to listen, and not just to hear. This event taught me to embrace people, their stories, their trials and tribulations, dreams and aspirations. To listen to what they had to share with me. I learnt so much from everyone who came out to support me.”

I have always known Ashish to be this unassuming, humble person, and it shone through again this time over. The credit of his accomplishment was not just attributed to him, it was his crew, friends, the people from all over who came out to run with him, and what he learnt from them, which he said he will always remember.

It was the senior citizens who stood on the podium and received their first medals ever, who thanked him for influencing them, is what I will remember. And Sushil, who showed Ashish what drive and dedication meant and to what lengths he could go to pursue his dreams, is what I will remember. And so much more from Ashish’s experiences, his grit and spirit, his love for life, and how he is forever helpful in motivating and training people who want to take up running.

Thank you, Ashish, for inspiring so many of us out there, and once again, congratulations on an achievement that seems so personal to some of us. I will be rooting for you at the Badwaters this July