Sarthak Malani, 28, a resident of Ahmedabad, will celebrate the 74th Independence Day by running 74km within his residential complex’s periphery in 12 hours. His aim is to create awareness about an issue close to his heart — mental health.
Working for the Milind Soman-promoted Pinkathon for the past five years, Malani is a running enthusiast with several laurels to his credit. He has completed 30 half-marathons and three ultra-distance runs in India and abroad. Of the total, he had run 5-half marathons backwards and 1 half-marathon barefoot. Stuck in Ahmedabad since March due to the Covid-19 lockdown, Malani decided to run for a cause. “Mental health awareness should not be limited to a day or two. It’s a continuous process and we need more discussion around it to remove the stigma. We need a strong mind with a strong body,” he said. “My objective is to show that a human body and mind can achieve anything and everything with the power of will.” He went on to say: “When I sustained a knee injury due to running, I took to backward running to continue my passion.”
He’ll be running on the same track for 12 hours with necessary breaks as his friends and family cheer for him on Saturday TNN