Patna: Dharmendra Kumar, 39, from Arwal district of Bihar, will run from Nalanda University to Gandhi Maidan, covering a distance of 101km, to create awareness about the Patna Marathon scheduled on December 17.

Dharmendra, a software engineer who has worked in the field of information technology for 10 years, is now a full time runner and founder member of Bangalore-based Protons Sports which organises marathon and running events in different cities.

Dharmendra, who passed his BTech from National Institute of Technology, Calicut, has set a target to complete the 101km-distance in 14-15 hours. "My dream is about to come true on November 29 when I will run from Nalanda University to Gandhi Maidan, covering a distance of 101km," Dharmendra told The Telegraph. "Though I have taken part in many marathons and ran as much as 178km, this would be my first such marathon in Bihar."

Dharmendra held a corporate job from 2000 to 2010 before leaving it to start his own entrepreneurship. Earlier, he has run 178km (2017) and 165km (2014) in 48 hours and 24 hours respectively. His tryst with marathons began in 2009.

"Long distance running is not new to Bihar," Dharmendra said. "One of the greatest long-distance runners in India came from Bihar. Shivnath Singh from Buxar ran the full marathon at Jalandhar in two hours and 12 minutes in 1978. His record still stands; no Indian has broken it yet. Another amazing fete was that he ran barefoot throughout his career. He died in 2003."

Dharmendra prefers ultra-marathon, which is a notch higher than a full marathon (42.195km). For five years now he has been taking part in the 72 km-run from Khardungla Pass to Leh City in Ladakh.

"Khardungla Pass is one of the highest motorable roads," Dharmendra said. "I am used to running 100km and more and am sure I will cover the 101km distance in 14-15 hours. Running occupies a good part of my time. When I am not running, I am reading about it, thinking about it, or planning about it. Over the years, I have become a fan of ultra running and love the whole experience. I intend to run all the famous ultra marathons of the world. I would like to pass on this addiction to as many people as possible."

His parents - father Rajeshwar Singh, a professor at North Eastern Hill University and mother Savitri Devi - live in Shillong while he is settled in Bangalore.