By Pratyusha Mukherjee from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh
The Sino-India War, also known as the Indo-China War, was an armed conflict between India and China that took place from 20th October to 21stNovember 1962.In the same October after six decades Indian Army and Arunachal Government jointly organised the Tawang Marathon which is indeed a great message to Chinese PLA.Last August, China released a map and claimed that Tawang and Akshai Chin are the parts of their territory which is not at all correct and the large participation of Arunachalese and a jam packed Tawang Football Stadium has shown the mirror to China.
So many runners participated in this famous Tawang Marathon, some of them has great backstories too.. So does Ramanjit Singh Oberoi. He discovered running at the age of 54, and it is now his passion.
Till now he completed more than 150 marathons which include ultra and full marathons.
He was prompted to participate in Marathon when he noticed his friend running the Half Marathon in Delhi.
Ramanjit ran his first full marathon in 2016 under the Mumbai Marathon event.
He finished the World’s six major Marathons which include Boston, Berlin, New York, London,Chicago, Tokyo ( Only 10000 runners across the world including 100 Indians had run these marathons .
He did the Khardungla Challenge of 72 kms in tough terrain of Leh !
Also did cycling from “Delhi-Mumbai in Dec”21 and “Manali- Leh in July”22.
Oberoi’s unbounded energy is the result of his passion. After years of working in a bank and then in a security company, Oberoi came upon the pleasures of running after he did a merely 7 kms run in 2012.
*“I discovered running rather late in life when most people are slowing down. But I saw how it made me feel – and I could not give it up. I feel free and doubly alive – when I am on the road, in the hills, and I start singing. It’s the most enjoyable part of my life,” Oberoi enthused.*
He began running in marathons at the age of 54, in 2014, when he took part in a half-marathon. Since then he has notched up an enviable record . In just the past four years, Oberoi participated in 28 half marathons of 21 kms each, some in challenging conditions, for example along the steps of Khumbalgarh Fort (2nd only to The Great wall of China), in the rarified atmosphere of Ladakh, and in the hills of Shimla.
Oberoi has ran three full marathons of 42 kms each, in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur, with his best timing being 3 hours and 42 minutes.
That’s not all. He participated in two Ultras, which are longer than full marathons. The first one was of 50 kms in the Aravalli Hills, followed just three days later, with the Mumbai Ultra, a 5 AM to 5 PM, 12-hour run, covering a distance of 100 kms. He also ran a 50 kms Ultra in tough conditions of the Thar Desert .
Now his participation in Tawang Marathon added a new feather on his cap.
Report- Pratyusha Mukherjee
(Near about two decades, this Kolkata based Journalist is covering Defence related issues along with Sports. In her illustrated career she has covered many major events and achieved National and International awards for Journalism.)
