The Marathon Man

Milind Soman, fitness icon, actor, and marathoner, inspires millions with his extraordinary endurance and health advocacy. Tracing his running journey, he revisits his most memorable experiences, specially in Kodagu (Coorg)!

He is the OG Indian Greek god who rose to fame with his chiselled body on the ramp, in advertisement campaigns, and in the iconic music video ‘Made in India’! From then to now, Mumbai’s very own Milind Soman — whose new movie Emergency hit the screens recently — has retained his fan-following and adoration through his extraordinary fitness levels. The modelturned- actor and marathoner now has a new mission: spreading fitness awareness among the masses. In fact, he even encourages fans wanting a photo with him to first do push-ups! “I thought if I asked them to do something meaningful for themselves first, I would be happier to take the picture. So, push-ups. I thought most people would say no, but to my pleasant surprise, almost 90 per cent at least try. It has become a fun thing for me and an inspirational moment for them,” Soman shares.

Soman prefers running barefoot — a habit that began as an experiment during a 20-km hill run on Mumbai’s outskirts in 2010. “My feet felt tired, so I took off my shoes and jogged a bit in socks. A strange thing happened — my feet stopped feeling tired. I found that interesting and started increasing my barefoot distances gradually. It still took me another year and a half to run a barefoot half marathon,” he explains. Over time, he discovered that barefoot running was more efficient. “Now, I only wear shoes in snow, ice, or extremely hot deserts,” says Soman

Although he has run countless marathons, the inaugural Mumbai Marathon in 2004 remains closest to his heart. “That’s where and why I started running; it’s also where I ran my first full marathon in 2009,” he explains.

briefing

Actor

Most Memorable

One experience that stands out is the gruelling 1,500-km run from Delhi to Mumbai over 30 days. Soman admits it was incredibly tough, especially since he didn’t train for it. “At the end of the first day, I could barely walk. But by the fifth day, my body had adapted. By the time I reached Mumbai, I had lost 7 kg and five toenails, but the real challenge began around the 14th day when the energy started to wane,” he recalls. The toughest part, he says, was maintaining focus.

Kodagu (Coorg)

Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka is popular for its rolling coffee plantations, lush forests and mist-laden hills. But this quaint hill town is also known for hosting the annual Barefoot Marathon, the world’s only such. Soman says, “I launched this marathon in 2015 and it is organised every December. It brings together barefoot runners from across the world to popularise the benefits of this sport. The terrain here is undulating, stretching over the Western Ghats, making the event more challenging!”

Ironman is here

Soman remembers having a beer between the cycling and running segments at Ironman. He hadn’t swum in 25 years and had never cycled more than a kilometre in one go. “It felt like starting over. I was turning 50 that year (2015), so I trained for about three months, and landed confidently in Zurich,” he shares.“The 3.8-km swim was over before I realised, and once I completed the cycling leg, I had seven hours to finish the marathon, which was easy, so I celebrated with a beer,” he adds, grinning.

One of the world’s most challenging endurance races, Ultraman, saw Soman’s participation in Florida in 2017. It’s a three-day triathlon comprising a 10-km swim, 420-km cycling, and 84-km running. Only about 100 participants take part each year. “The second day was brutal — a 275-km cycling route that had to be completed in 12 hours. I finished it in 11 hours, 59 minutes, and 55 seconds,” he says with a smile.