POKHARA, April 2: According to international standards, a runner should rest for three months after running a marathon. That is why a runner who has run in one event does not participate in the next marathon event. This is because running a marathon consumes a lot of energy which takes about three months to replenish.
But two young men from Nepal and India are used to running 50 kilometers daily, and that too barefoot. Amrit Basnet of Jajarkot and Visakhkrishna Swami of Maharashtra, India run 50 km daily with the aim of getting their names written on the Guinness Book of World Records.
Named Indo Nepal Friendship, they started running from Gorakhpur in India on 25th March and reached Pokhara via Butwal, Palpa, and Syangja in Nepal. Banset and Swami, who ran 50 kilometers every day, reached Pokhara in three days. After reaching Pokhara, they ran on the track at Pokhara Stadium on the first day, and then on Pokhara Marathon route the second day and on the third day they ran again on the track of the stadium. They are now heading towards Damauli, they said on Sunday.
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They run 50 kilometers daily and have set a goal of running 1,100 kilometers in 22 days. Amrit Basnet, the runner, said that they started the race by informing the Guinness Book of World Records. “The GPS tracks our running. Photos and videos are also used as evidence. Based on that, the Guinness Book of World Records will provide us a certificate later,” he said.
Another runner Visakhkrishna Swami from Maharashtra, India, who runs with shoes on sometimes and sometimes barefoot said, “People have the misconception that running barefoot causes cancer. Yes, we run barefoot to break that illusion,” he said.
Both Basnet and Swami, who tried to set the world record by running together, have already set the world record alone. Basnet has set a world record by running barefoot from Delhi in India to Kathmandu and Swami by running a marathon every day for 62 days.
In the year 2021, Basnet and Swami became friends as contestants in the 'Twenty Four Hour Stadium' competition held in Chandigarh, India. Turning that friendship into a bond, they are trying to set a new record by running together. They say, “we are running to set a new record as we had similar thoughts and feelings.”
They say that even though they are happy to be able to keep the name of the country by running, they are saddened when the state and society do not give them due recognition. The duo, who are running at their own expenses, say, “With the support of the state and society, we could run forever.”
