Gandhigiri by child prodigy

Denied permission by authorities, boy runs for eight hours in playground, cover 82-km

By Akshaya Kumar Sahoo

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: One may call it Gandhigiri of a prodigious boy. Marathon runner Dilip Rana, who was not allowed by the authorities to run a 100 km distance, on Saturday created a sort of history when he ran in the playground continuously for eight hours and, in the process, covered a distance of 82 kilometres.

Rana, who sees Limca Book of Records holder Budhia Singh as his role model, hails completely from a rural background near Pipli in Puri district. Son a daily-wage earner, Rana is supported and trained by his foster uncle and coach Shaikh Zakir.

According to the boy's coach, Dilip had sought permission to run 100 kilometres on September 25, 2005. However, following the controversy over the issue of allowing kids for marathon races, the Puri district administration did not grant permission to him to run.

Frustrated, the 12-year-old Rana on Saturday began his running at 5 a.m. in the village playground. At around 1 pm, the coach stopped him as he developed cramps on the legs.

Rana, a class-8 student, in his first attempt had covered 38 kilometres in five and half-hours. Then he practiced for nearly seven hours a day and undertook 65-km run from Puri to Bhubaneswar on more than one occasion.

The five-year-old Budhia Singh's success has inspired many kids in Orissa who want to achieve similar feats. Some of them have already covered distances more than the wonder kid who on May 2, 2005, entered his name in Limca Book of Records by successfully covering 65 kilometres in just 7 hours and 2 minutes. Nine-year-old Mrutyunjay Mandol alia Akash of Ganjam district and Sundergarh's 11-year-old tribal girl Anastastia Barla – who started practicing long-distance running following Budhia's achievement, have covered longer distances than the latter, albeit competent authorities and agencies are yet to record their successes.