Indian man travels to the UK from Delhi to participate in London Marathon

Biswajit Bhattacharya from Delhi who works in IBM, is visiting London this week to participate in the famous London Marathon, happening on Sunday 23 April.
The London Marathon, with TCS as the title sponsor, will cover a distance 26.2 miles (42.16 kms), through central London spots such as the Westminster and Buckingham Palace to Royal Docks and Canary Wharf in East London and Woolwich and Greenwich in South London. The route has remained the same for 42 years since start of the inaugural race in 1981. There are many international travellers and celebrities who participate representing and raising funds for charities they support, but coming across Indians travelling all the way from India to participate is uncommon, although the Indian diaspora in the UK running for a cause close to their heart has been quite popular.
Speaking to Asian Voice, 53-year-old Biswajit said, he started running much later in life, when he was around 45. He tried luck with other sports such as tennis, but somehow grew bored quickly and then took up training at gym.
When he started running, Biswajit not only saw the health aspects of it, but also cherished the effect it had on his mental wellbeing. “The running community is very inclusive. I got drawn into it and ever since running has become a passion. Mine is more of a progression story than a life changing event and I hope to continue running for a while. The psyche of a runner is to adjust to the foreign environment and climate and years ago, I lived in London though I still have many friends there.
“I started with half marathons and slowly graduated to full marathons. In India I have participated in many marathons, and I want to finish all the 6 major marathons in the world i.e. in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo and Berlin to receive my Six Star Medal. I took part in the Berlin Marathon last year and this year I am participating in London. I have been training for the last 3 months for this marathon and do strength training and yoga besides just practicing running.”