Man gets a ‘marathon’ birthday gift from son

Thiruvananthapuram: When Vishnu J Raju decided to celebrate his father’s birthday, he chose to present him a gift he would cherish. On Saturday, Vishnu, an MBA graduate, ran 53km for his father Raju Raghavan, who is also a fitness enthusiast and runner, as birthday gift.
A native of Kadappakada, Kollam, Vishnu (25) covered the route Kollam Musaliar Park- Kadappakada- Chinnakada- Kollam Beach- Chinnakada- KSRTC Bus stand- Ashramam Maidanam, six times to cover the distance of 53km.He started the run at 1am and completed it by 7am. He is a member of Soles of Kollam, a runners’ group which supported his run.
“I got motivated into running after watching my father, who used to participate in such activities. I have participated in half marathons in the past and have also completed an unofficial marathon distance run from Ashramam Maidanam to Punalur hanging bridge. I had registered for the Tuffman solo run challenge of 50 km and decided to cover 3km more as it was my father’s 53rd birthday. All my family members are active runners and participates in running activities,” said Vishnu.
Vishnu, a student at Kerala State Civil Service Academy, is now busy pursuing his dream for civil service. The run was conducted following Covid-19 protocol and distance covered was recorded virtually. “It was a wonderful experience. I chose the route for the run as it was comfortable for me. The idea behind the run was to motivate youngsters to take part in running which is good for fitness and increases lung capacity, especially in times of Covid. The run is called ultramarathon, which is more than 42-km marathon. There are people in the state who actively participate in half-marathons and marathons, but there are not many who participate in ultramarathons,” added Vishnu.
Vishnu lives with his father Raju Raghavan, a businessman, mother Jayanthi K, a KSEB employee and brother Vignesh J Raju, who is studying mechanical engineering.