At 60, an average Indian might fancy the idea of running after their grandchildren, not sprinting across Antarctica and Australia in a week! That is just what Hyderabadi Chigurupati Krishna Prasad, a successful entrepreneur, and his wife Uma did.
The couple are the world’s first to have successfully completed the World Marathon Challenge 2015, where participants have to cover seven half-marathons across seven continents in seven days. Uma is also the first female to have achieved the milestone.
The duo ran 148 km and spent 59 hours flying 38,000 km for the competition, which began on January 17 in Antarctica and covered Chile in South America, Miami in North America, Madrid in Europe, Morocco in Africa, Dubai in Asia and finally Sydney on January 24. More commendable is the fact that the average age of the participants in the competition was around 35.
From running faster in the glaciers of Antarctica, where temperatures recorded – 20°C, to escaping frost bites, to braving winds of 55 kmph the very next day in Chile, the couple have adventurous tales aplenty to share. “We had to run through tracks, woods and then a harbour in Australia. I lost my way in the woods and was clueless, but managed to complete the race,” said Uma at a felicitation programme organised for the couple on Saturday.
“It was a physically and mentally exhausting challen-ge, running from airports to run sites and back to airports. In all, we slept only two nigh-ts on proper beds,” she added.
While Uma wants to encourage running, Mr. Prasad’s has another aim. “I had signed up for Richard Branson’s space mission and hope to be on the spacecraft soon.”
