In the India Backyard Ultra also known as India’s Last Man Standing event that was flagged off at Aravali trail in Gurgaon on 12 March 2022, Laishram Surendra Kumar Singh survived 28 hours covering 187 km and emerged India’s second last man standing.
TFM Report
In a major feat for Manipur, a 40-year-old runner from the state has made a mark in the third edition of India Backyard Ultra-2022. In the India Backyard Ultra also known as India’s Last Man Standing event that was flagged at Aravali trail in Gurgaon on 12 March 2022, Laishram Surendra Kumar Singh survived 28 hours covering 187 km and emerged India’s second last man standing.
Laishram Surendra Kumar Singh who is presently residing in Gurgaon is the son of Laishram Ibohabi and Laishram Leimahal Devi, Top Awang Leikai in Imphal East. With the win, Surendra Kumar has qualified to participate in the World Team Backyard Ultra championship, which will be held in India from 15th October, 2022.
Kartik Joshi, a runner from Indore, won the race and set the record by retaining the title three times in a row.
Speaking to The Frontier Manipur, Surendra Kumar, who works in a multinational company based in America, Surendra Kumar, said, “Surviving 28 hours in the race is his personal best record. In the second edition of In India Backyard Ultra, he survived 22 hours and finished seventh.”
“The backyard ultra (Last Man Standing event) is a form of ultramarathon race where runners must complete the loop covering a distance of 4.167 miles in less than one hour to remain in the race. If a runner finishes a loop within the hour, he/she has the opportunity to start the next loop provided he/she is in the start corral when the next hour starts,” he said.
If a runner does not finish within the hour, he will be out of the race and considered a DNF (do not finish). This process will continue, only one runner is left standing and he/she is declared winner, he added.
Once the runner is on the course, he is not allowed to receive any aid from his crew or anyone else other than fellow active runners. The runner is not allowed to return to camp once the loop has started. Once the runner is back to the start within the hour, he may use the bathroom, eat, drink, sleep, ponder the next loop, etc. However, he must be back in the start corral before the bell rings or he will be considered a DNF, he added.