He was undoubtedly one of the greatest long-distance runners to emerge from India. Shivnath Singh paved the way for distance runners from India to win glory on the international stage. He is considered one of the few great long-distance runners that India produced. He represented the country twice in the Asian Games and the Olympics. Importantly he is also the holder of the national marathon record with the best time of 2:12:00 a feat he achieved in 1978. That is a mark that still taunts every marathon runner in the country till date.
To pay tribute to him on “Running day”, “Runners of Goa decided to pay tribute to him, by each running his own race. Here is how it worked
July 11 is considered Running Day. This year, a Captain in the Merchant navy in Goa decided to do something about it. Captain Robert Shane Vaz who is part of Runners of Goa, felt it was time, people in this generation learned about a great from the past. This he felt could be done through the sport that made him popular. The captain said “It would be a lot safer if it is done by individuals running on their regular course by themselves. It is called a virtual run. The virus and the resultant lockdown had demotivated several runners. Many of them could not run and I felt a virtual run would be an ideal subject to them taking all the precautions necessary to keep them safe. I also decided to name it after Shivnath Singh because I was quite sure not many of them had heard of him”. According to his estimates, he expected around 50 runners to respond and was surprised when 230 signed up. Runners were required to run and provide details of the distance and the time clocked. In addition, in order to get diverse glimpses of Goa, he encouraged runners to take selfies in various interesting places that they would pass while running. There was no pressure with regards to clocking good times exerted on any of the runners.
Sheriann Dourado a has turned into a Home baker ran a distance of 15 kms between Norberts at Chicalim and well before Cortalim bridge and back with a group of runners. She said, “It was a small group but we followed all the precautions required to be followed in these times”. A runner for four years, this mother of three has been participating in half marathons around the country. In a year, she participates in five half marathons. With the best time of 2.20.00 for a half marathon, she said she was aware of Shivnath Singh having read some of the information put up online. She said running was something she enjoyed doing having been an athlete even whilst at school.
Alice D Souza another runner said she was not one who was interested in timings and had participated in the virtual run because it was great fun. She said “For me, it is all about having fun, the pace is not important to me. I always complete the half marathon though the time may be embarrassing”. She said the virtual run was important also because it was about keeping healthy. About Shivnath Singh, she said was aware of him though she admitted to not knowing much.
Captain Vaz said he had run 42 km, 50 km, and even 100 km. He had participated in the ultramarathon in Bengaluru which was the oldest in Asia. He had even participated in the ultra-marathon in Ladakh which involved the Khardungla pass.
He hoped virtual runs would continue to boost the popularity of distance running and hoped people would learn about the rich history of distance running in the country.
