At the 2023 Comrades Marathon, Mumbai-based Dr Anand Patil crossed the finish line for the tenth time thus earning a Comrades Green Number Roll of Honour. Runners who complete the ultramarathon in South Africa ten times earn the recognition.

Since 1921, a total of 14,000 runners from South Africa and around the world have earned this green number, information on Comrades website said. A week before his tenth Comrades run, Anand did the Durban Half Ironman.

A surgeon by training, Anand’s journey in endurance is a combination of running, triathlon, ultra-long-distance cycling and ultra-long-distance swimming. Apart from the ten Comrades, Anand has done over 13 full Ironman and 11 half Ironman, Olympic distance triathlons and 40 marathons in India and overseas including all the six World Marathon Majors. That last distinction earned him the Abbott World Marathon Major medal. His endeavours also include several ultra-cycling races and ultra-swim events. He has done an Ultraman.

Anand grew up in Kurli village in Belgaum. Much of his childhood years were spent swimming in rivers, local water bodies, cycling, walking and running through the village, apart from pouring over his school books. There was no TV and movies for distraction. At the Vaishampayan Memorial Government Medical College, Anand became part of the swimming team and as a second year MBBS student, he took part in competitions. After his MS, he went into the medical profession. He did not stop formal education after MS. Instead, he went on to do M.Sc (in Biotechnology), MA (in Political Science and History), LLB and M.Phil (in Anthropology). He also cleared the UPSC (Union Public Services Commission) examination, which is essential for a career in civil services. Alongside he started a coaching centre, Study Circle, for those aspiring to join civil services.

Years went by. Anand’s medical practice continued. He also focussed on expanding Study Circle across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi. “ I had put on a lot of weight. A college friend of mine Dr Ajay Chaugale was shocked to see me so heavy. He asked me to join a gym. At that time both me and my wife Vaishali became life members of Talwalkars Gym,” Anand said. This was in 2000.

In 2004, Mumbai Marathon made its debut. Anand was part of the medical team for that edition. “ In 2008, I ran 21 kilometres at the Thane Mahapaur Run (it was later renamed: Varsha Marathon). I ran without any training. My time at Talwalkars Gym helped build my strength and stamina,” he said.

In 2010, he ran the full marathon at Mumbai Marathon. In the same year, he did Berlin Marathon. In the following year, he did the New York City Marathon. While running this marathon, he heard about Comrades. In 2012, he did his first Comrades run. Comrades Marathon is actually an ultramarathon of about 87-90 km held annually in South Africa. The route alternates between the downhill version from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and the uphill version from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

“ I began understanding endurance. I realised that I was healthy but not fit,” he said. Fitness, according to him, has five aspects – stamina, endurance, strength, power and speed.

While running his first Comrades, he heard about Ironman (triathlon) from an Australian runner. Soon, he was dividing his time between work, workouts and races. These races were a mix of marathon, triathlon, cycling events and swimming events.

In May 2017, Anand participated in Noosa Ultraman in Queensland, Australia. An Ultraman held over three days entails a 10 km swim, 140 km bicycle ride (on day one), 281 km bicycle ride (on day two) and an 84.3 km run (on day three). “ I didn’t get my visa until the day before I was to leave. I did the swim segment without a wet suit,” he said. He finished the Ultraman in 33:42:16 hours. Less than a month after the Ultraman, Anand ran the Comrades Marathon (his sixth). Later that year, he did Bhutan Tour of the Dragon, a 255 km-mountain bike race and followed it with Ironman Langkawi.

Anand’s calendar is packed with endurance events. In 2018, he did the Boston Marathon and followed it up with Comrades. Later that year, he did three events over three weekends – Ironman Maryland followed by Chicago Marathon followed by Ironman Louisville. He also did Ironman Langkawi, his third time there. He did this Ironman five times from 2016 onward. Anand is expected to do the Ironman Langkawi for the sixth time this October.

In ultra-cycling events, Anand has completed the Ultra Spice twice and the Deccan Cliffhanger six times.

According to Anand, management of calories is very important for endurance sport. “ This time at Comrades I planned to be on my feet for 12 hours. As per my calculation I needed 11,000 calories. My aim was to get to the halfway mark in under five hours with a need for 4,000 calories,” he said.

On the day of the race at Comrades, at 1:30 AM, he had breakfast and a 750 ml isotonic drink. On reaching the start line, he had a black coffee. “ The race commenced at 5:30 AM. I was in corral H. I lost 7-8 minutes by the time I crossed the start line. At 7:30 AM, at an aid station, I had a drink. From Drummond, which is the half way mark, the stiff climb starts. I did not feel hungry until finish line,” he said. He finished the run in 10:51:07 hours. His best timing in Comrades was 9:50 in 2016.

Having finished his tenth Comrades and earned his green number, Anand plans to focus on training for Race Across America (RAAM), an ultra-cycling event that starts in Oceanside in California and ends at Annapolis, Maryland on the US east coast. It covers a distance of over 3,000 miles and traverses through 12 states. As part of his training, he intends to do the 600 km solo crew supported Himalayan ultra from Leh to Kargil and back in August this year.

What strikes about Dr Patil’s life is the tendency to push one’s limits, visible as much in his accomplishments in sports as it is in academics. While his harvest in endurance spans marathons to ultramarathons and Ironman to Ultraman; in academics, his degrees range from humanities to law and medicine with an acceptance for the civil services. “ He is an outlier,’’ Anand’s wife, Vaishali, said (according to her, back in time when Anand cleared the civil services exams, he was ranked 68th and offered the chance to join the Indian Police Service). She attributed his nature to upbringing in a rural backdrop, challenges faced along the way, the determination to overcome obstacles and the resolve to maximise whatever one did. “ His needs are minimum. One might think that someone with his kind of calendar would have a diet regimen, a workout routine and endless needs. He has no such needs or demands. If you see his office timings, they are unbelievable, his practice for all of his races is always below par and yet I have not had an ounce of supplements or gels or anything in my house ever,’’ Vaishali said.

With Study Circle picking up strongly, it wasn’t long before the doctor – he had his own hospital in Navi Mumbai – was splitting time between his medical practice and the civil services-training outfit.

Anand has now reoriented his medical acumen towards Fitness calibration based on the concept of the Fitness pyramid, besides training students for the civil services.

In a sense, life has come full circle for him. Those who were his students at Study Circle and have since become high ranking civil servants look up to Anand as their guru in endurance sports too, Vaishali said.     

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)