Running for glory: Army veteran qualifies for Boston Marathon

LUCKNOW: After Covid-19 pandemic dashed his dreams of running the prestigious Boston Marathon last year, 60-year-old army veteran, Col (retd) Bajrang B Singh, has again qualified for the 125th Boston Marathon scheduled on October 11 this year.
Last year’s marathon was deferred and converted into a virtual experience due to the pandemic in which Singh finished first among Indian participants.
Despite the reduced number entries, Singh made the cut this time and will travel to Boston in October to realise his dreams on the American turf.
“I am delighted to receive a confirmation of acceptance from the Boston Athletic Association. Even with high cut off, I am proud to have qualified for the iconic marathon. I hope the pandemic doesn’t play spoilsport this time,” Singh told TOI.
In the virtual experience, Singh ran the marathon in Lucknow and finished in 3 hours, 38 minutes and three seconds — his best so far. This year, the organisers of Boston Marathon have decided to shift the qualifying period backwards by one year and accept previous races to decide the selection.
“This means that athletes who have participated in races between September 2018 and September 2020 and have achieved the qualifying standard of the BAA have been selected. Unlike previous year when qualifiers who were 1 minute and 39 seconds faster than the qualifying time were accepted, it has gone up to 7 minutes and 47 seconds this time,” Singh said.
“Due to stringent rules, many qualifiers across the world have been rejected. My best in formal race in a marathon is 3 hours, 40minutes and 32 seconds in Hyderabad,” Singh said.
He will be accompanied by his wife, Asha Singh, who is also an athlete and has sacrificed Chicago Marathon event slated for October 10 to be with her husband.
In view of the pandemic, Singh has limited his practice to the boundaries of his house.
“It has been extremely difficult and unsafe to have proper practice amid coronavirus spread. I am trying to maintain my base fitness. The real training will begin after there is some respite from pandemic,” Singh said.
An ex-serviceman, Singh discovered his passion for running after retirement. He took part in his first race (10-km run) in 2016 in Pune, when he was 56. “What started as a small step ended up becoming a long journey,” recalls Singh. He later ran his first full marathon in Goa, followed by a half-marathon in Pune. Four years later, he has 70 competitive races with 30 half-marathons (21.1 km), 15 full marathons (42.2 km) under his belt.