Stylish army man Nitendra Rawat sets record at Mumbai Marathon

When 29yearold Army hawaldar Nitendra Singh Rawat announced a couple of days back that he was gunning for veteran distancerunner Ram Singh Yadavs course record of 21659 at this edition of Mumbai Marathon many would have considered it tall talkNitendra Singh Rawat sprints as he nears the finish line of the Mumbai Marathon yesterday PicBipin KokateAfter all Yadav a veteran of numerous marathons took a lot of time to achieve the mark in the first place and Rawat was not even a handful of marathons oldAdd to this the fact that this Uttarakhand jawan sports a cool ponytail carries an expensive pair of shades on his forehead and took to distancerunning only to avoid being on the dangerous front near Pakistan Occupied Kashmir POK and youd think hes joking But it was Rawat who had the last laugh yesterdayHe broke off from the pack of Indian runners around the 36km mark and cruised to the finish in a new course record time of 21548 over a minute quicker than his idol Ram SinghLike to look goodMoments after the race a smiling Rawat said I told you so The soldier isnt cocky but confident and its this flashy style that sets him apart from the pack of traditionally timid Indian long distance runners Hes not averse to discussing his love for fashion tooIve kept this pony tail only recently because Im now part of the India training camp in Ooty Had I been reporting to work at the army I wouldnt be permitted to keep it As for my shades Oakley they are of a much cheaper variety than what European distancerunners wear Mine costs only around Rs 7000 to Rs 8000The foreigners wear shades costing R15000 to R20000 I know that Im probably the only Indian distancerunner who runs with shades but thats my style I like too look good even while running Rawat told midday yesterday after his moment of gloryHis stylish outlook notwithstanding though Rawat is a very hardworking athlete and his coach Beijing Olympian Subhedar Surinder Singh Bhandari can vouch for his commitmentCoach speaksRawat is one of my favourite runners When he was leaving for Mumbai I told him that he will win this marathon and I had even predicted the time mdash 21540 mdash he ran eight seconds slower He is a very talented boy and gives his 100 per cent at training We train seven hours a day four in the morning and three in the evening seven days a week and Rawat never skips a sessionYes hes a little stylish and sometimes even likes to listen to music while training unlike the other boys but as long as hes delivering results on the track that should not be a problem Bhandari who was unable to be here given his coaching commitments in Ooty told midday over the phone yesterdayRawat who had already qualified for the Rio Olympics having run 218 at the World Military Games in South Korea finished the Mumbai Marathon in a credible 10th position overall pocketing a cool Rs 500000The Oakley shades beg one question What if they fall off during a race Will he stop to pick them up No way pat came the reply My race is my priority If I win and do well I can buy more sunglasses and probably the expensive ones this time he signed off with a smile the sunglasses firmly planted on his head and that ponytail curling across his broad shoulders