At 53, IT professional completes 6 marathons
The fear of getting affected by genetic diabetes made Panchkula-based IT professional Rajiv Batra to turn into the professional marathon runner to the extent that he complete the six major marathons at the age of 53.
Batra has not only made the city proud, but also claims to be the first from Punjab and Haryana to complete the six of the world’s biggest marathons in Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago, Berlin and New York.
“The journey had started in 2019 when a friend’s father got diabetes. Having a family history, I came down with a fear of getting diabetic with the passage of time. I started walking 5km daily. Thereafter, I joined an elite club of marathon runners and started my journey in marathon at the age of 46,” said Batra.
Batra claimed that the concept of marathon is different at different venues. “The Boston Marathon is one of the most happening events and is worth experiencing. Thousands of participants from across the world participate in the event. In the New York Marathon, there were stations made for female runners to pump their breast milk during the race, while in the Tokyo event, there were bunkers so that in case of an attack the runners can hide in the underground facilities,” he added. “I started running to keep fit and did not know when it became my passion,” Batra said.
He completed the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 4 hours and 26:07 seconds (4.26:07s), London (4.05:10s) and New York (4.20:44s) in 2014. In 2022, he completed the Berlin Marathon (4.15:01s). Last year, Batra ran at Boston (4.25:07s) and Chicago (4.03:46s).
