3.00 Hrs – Gurminder Singh Saini – 25 K, 18 Dec 2022
Gurminder Singh Saini is a passionate runner and a simple guy hailing from Hoshairpur, Punjab. Fondly called Saini, he was the first one in his family to join the armed forces. His inclination to fitness, especially running was one of the reasons for him to join the armed forces. Saini had been passionate towards the sport of running since his childhood wherein he preferred sneaking out of house to mandatorily complete his “daily run” rather than preparing for examinations/ completing his homework. His passion further strengthened during his training days in Indian Air Force when he started representing his syndicate in running competitions and cross country runs. Each medal won in the competitions motivated him to perform better the next time. From being a shy runner during school days, he became a matured runner and running has been a regular affair for him in multiple events both in the forces and outside.

Saini though had been a fast short distance runner, he ran his first half marathon in the 2015 at Jaisalmer followed by 11th edition of the ADHM in 2015. Thereafter, he participated and successfully completed many half marathons including ADHM 2016, IDBI New Delhi HM 2017, Super Sikh HM 2017, Amritsar HM 2018, Noida Grand Marathon 2018, Winter Delhi HM 2018, IDBI New Delhi HM 2018, Dwarka HM 2018, ADHM 2018, ADHM 2019, Super Sikh HM 2019, AFLI ND HM 2022, Vedanta Delhi HM 2022. His best 25K timing was 2hrs 14 minutes during TSK 25K 2019 and best half marathon timing was 1hrs 50minutes during Super Sikh Run 2019.

Saini ran his first marathon in the TMM 2020 edition with a timing of 4hrs 11 minutes and is presently training for the TMM 2023 scheduled on 15 Jan 2023. Saini is a part of the Adidas running group in Delhi and Mumbai and was a part of the Gwalior Runners group in the past and this is the first time he is pacing in an event.

He has shown interest in pacing as he likes to motivate a team to run as a group and encourage novice runners to achieve their goals. For him personal bests are a matter of chance and not the end goal. What matters in end is the sense of satisfaction post a run. He professes that running is all about fitness of the body and the mind.

Kolkata shares a special place in his life as the city beautiful happens to be the place where he ran his first 25K in 2019. In addition to that, the city is a jewel of our country with a culture unmatched. To run the roads of this city is his dream and this is the second time he will be doing so and that too as a pacer.

He took premature retirement to settle his family and is exploring his luck in the second innings of his professional career. He is an avid sportsman and enjoys various playing sports like squash, golf, swimming to name a few. He believes in the following motto said by Michael Jordon:-

“TALENT WINS GAMES, BUT TEAMWORK AND INTELLIGENCE WINS CHAMPIONSHIP”

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