Uzair Fayaz Khan, a resident of Nowhatta Srinagar has set a record of running from Srinagar to Delhi in seven days to create anti-drug addiction awareness.Uzair is waiting for support for registration in the International Book of Records.
Talking to Rising Kashmir, Uzair said, “I had always been interested in running and taking part in marathons since 6th Grade. The record I have set, I have been preparing for this for the last 7 months.”
Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat is Uzair’s coach and has been working rigorously with him for the past many years.
Uzair said that Mushtaq has been his main support and “encouraged him in taking this initiative.”
Uzair used to run 50 kilometres daily. He has also participated in marathon runs from Srinagar to Sonamarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam earlier.“I started my journey from Bakshi Stadium here after being flagged off by Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic city Srinagar, Ghulam Hassan on April 2.”
Uzair reached Banihal on the first day. “My foot was swollen but fortunately I recovered from it and started running again the next morning and reached Jammu by evening,” he said.
“The journey from Srinagar to Delhi was very challenging. I faced a lot of difficulties in Haryana. Some unknown people tried to steal my bag and mobile phone. I contacted the Haryana police but they didn’t help,” he said, adding, “I had to adapt to extreme weather conditions as well.”
As per Uzair, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic City Srinagar, Ghulam Hassan helped him throughout the journey. “He would often call me to see how I am doing,” he said.
Uzair said that being on this journey was difficult at many levels. “I was away from home although I was closer to my destination. This was a challenge,” he said.
“When I get hungry, I eat salad, so that I don’t have any hindrances while running. Diet was very important to me because it kept me going,” he said, and added, “It’s all about challenging myself and testing those unknown limits.”
Uzair claims he has sought help from many government agencies to fund him but “without any response till now.”“Response from people was immense. While running people used to take pictures with me and many came to me and talked to me about this initiative and they were very happy with me,” he said.
Uzair said his aim for running has been to make the youth stay away from drug abuse and excel in their work. “I want our youth to stay away from such things,” he said.
“The government should support our athletes financially so that young kids don’t get demoralized. We need our society to be diverse and participate in multiple fields,” he said.
