Australian Ultra-marathoner begins his Spirit of India Run – To run from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 60 days

Pat Farmer is a multiple world record holder for endurance running. He has run from the North Pole to the South, and across Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Middle East and North America. Dedicated to helping humanity, Pat has started his Spirit of India run aiming to cover 10 states in 60 days covering over 4600km, to raise funds for the education of girls.

The run that began on 26th January, also aims to cement relations between India and Australia; encourage tourism and personal relationships with a view to create awareness of India as a tourism destination and showcase it as a positive country in Australia.

The first leg of the ‘Spirit of India Run’ will see Farmer journey through Kerala –as a guest of the state Tourism Department – from Poovar on up through Kochi and Kasargod before crossing over into Karwar in Karnataka. He will then hug the western coastline upwards into Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and beyond.

Farmer will travel a distance of 4,600 km from India’s southernmost point to Srinagar over a period of 60 days, covering an average of 76 km a day.

Farmer expects to cross the finish line in Srinagar on March 30, following which he is slated to fly to Delhi for a reception in his honour. A number of similar gatherings are planned at the various halts on his route to maintain the run’s momentum and message.

He has completed ultra-marathons in the Middle East – a 20-day campaign spreading the message of peace over a 1,500 km stretch from Lebanon to Jerusalem, and Vietnam. He also holds the record for the longest continuous land run around Australia.

But he is perhaps best known for his astonishing year-long 20,000 km slog in across 14 countries between the Earth’s two poles in 2011. Some five years later, he will keep a similar pace – though Farmer clocked well over two marathon-lengths daily across North, Central and South Americas during the ‘Pole to Pole Run’ – in India.

His runs have also gone the distance in terms of raising funds for their intended charities: the five-stage polar crossing (described as “The Greatest Run in History”) raised $100 million for the International Red Cross in aid of the organisation’s relief programmes in the developing world. Farmer has also netted millions for causes back home, like Lifeline, Cancer Council, Australian Red Cross and Diabetes Australia.