Pune: Army Officer Dedicates 10 Half Marathons To Legends To Mark 75th Independence Day

Seona James

Pune, 11th August 2021: Fitness enthusiasts and medical organisations often describe running as a highly beneficial activity an individual can include in their lifestyle for fitness, with WebMD declaring it as “one of the best cardio exercises you can do.”

However, ‘to run’ is not merely a verb or a fitness activity. Instead, it is often associated with ‘purpose.’ Lt Col Aditya Chauhan (retd) has added pertinent purpose to each step of his run since he began his self-introduced mini marathon on 6th August.

Lt Col Chauhan served in the Army for 21 years before embracing premature retirement in 2019. He has been a running enthusiast for over 12 years and has always enjoyed the activity. Wishing to celebrate the 75th Independence Day of the country in his unique style, he resolved to run for ten consecutive days.

“Since it is the 75th Independence Day, I thought I’ll make my own small event where I can run at my own pace, at my own desired place, and at my own time. So, I thought of doing half-marathons, 21 kilometres, on ten consecutive days starting from 6th August, leading up to the day of Independence (15th August),” Lt Col Chauhan explained.

Aditya Chauhan, Retd Army officer's ten half marathon from 6-15 August dedicated to Legends of #India. 25Km Runs from 13-15 Aug in #Pune dedicated to theme #HarGharTiranga @SpokespersonMoD@adgpi@PIBMumbai@ddsahyadrinews @airnewsalerts @airnews_mumbai@airnews_pune pic.twitter.com/kxZDUfQba5

— PRO Defence Pune (@PRODefPune) August 11, 2022

Each day’s run is dedicated to a personality of the country who has been an eminent inspiration to the citizens across time. In these six days, Lt Col Chauhan has dedicated his runs to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Prithviraj Chauhan, Rani Laxmibai and other distinguished personalities.

“Apart from this, on the last three days (13th to 15th August), I will be running 25 kilometres each day, adding up to 75 kilometres to mark the 75th year of Independence. Along with dedications on each of these days, I would also like to spread the Prime Minister’s message that we should have tirangas at our homes on these three days,” he explained.

Lt Col Chauhan has also acted as an inspiration to his social groups. In fact, he explained how one of his mates from the Army delivered support for the initiative and has been running 10 kilometres daily. The Lieutenant Colonel has also been sharing his updates and dedications on social groups and Twitter.