Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Ashis Roy, MD FRCS (born 1 June 1932) is a runner, author, and cardiologist best known as the first Indian man to run 100

marathons The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. As of 2015, he has completed 145 total races, 115 of which are full marathons.

Biography

Roy was born 1 June 1932 in

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, the son of sports player and organizer Sudha Sindhu Roy. He graduated from the Government Boys' High School in Mawkhar, then attended St. Edmund's College,

Assam Medical College Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), formerly Berry White Medical School, is a government medical school and hospital in Dibrugarh, Assam, India. It was the first medical college in Assam and the whole of Northeast India. It is the terti ...

(Medical Studies), and

Pune University Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Pune, is a public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshkhind. The uni ...

(MD) He joined the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

in 1957 and served as a

until 1978, when he retired after 21 years of service. After leaving the military, he became a consulting physician and cardiologist in

Chittaranjan Park Chittaranjan Park (also known as C.R. Park) is an upscale neighborhood in South East Delhi and home to a large Bengali community. It was established on a rocky terrain in the early 1960s under the name EPDP Colony (East Pakistan Displaced Pers ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. His daughter Amrita sometimes joins him for races in the US, where she lives. He has another daughter who lives in Canada and a son who lives in London.

Running

Roy's first competitive race was a one-mile run in 1949 when he was 16. He did not run a marathon until the Rath Marathon in Delhi in 1985 after he left the Air Force. Some of the races he has run include the World Veterans Games (1987) in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, the 100th

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

(1996) in the US, the Millennium Marathon Burlington (2000) in Canada, the

Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is the world's longest certified footrace. In 1996 Sri Chinmoy created this event as a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) race. At the award ceremony that year he declared that the 1997 edition would be extended to ...

(2008) in the US, and the

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Running Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by the World Triathlon Corporation, IRONMAN Group's Competitor Group, part of Advance Publications. The series is known for lining race routes with live band ...

(2015) in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, USA. On 17 January 2010, he became the first person from India to run 100 marathons and was the first Indian ever to join the

100 Marathon Club The 100 Marathon Club is a club for marathon and ultra marathon runners. It has a membership that is primarily based in the UK, but with additional members from outside Britain. The 100 Marathon Club is affiliated to UK Athletics UK Ath ...

, which he did in 2015. In 2013, when he was 81 and had run 115 races, he was listed in the ''

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

'' as the oldest marathoner in India. Roy began running only

half marathons A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

after a spinal injury in 2011 left him partially paralyzed.

Publications

*''Joy of Running'' (2009) *''Wonderful Joys of Running'' (2014)

Full marathons run

Achievements

1932 births Living people Indian male marathon runners Indian male long-distance runners People from Shillong Indian Air Force officers Sportspeople from Meghalaya Indian cardiologists Indian medical doctors Indian Air Force personnel Medical doctors from Delhi Athletes from Delhi {{authority control