By Arun Kumar
Washington, Nov 9 (IANS) India’s grand old marathon man Ashis Roy took another step towards his coveted goal of a century of runs as he finished his 98th race in Harrisburg after ten runs in North America in the last six months alone.

The oldest participant in the 37th annual Select Medical Corporation Harrisburg Marathon Sunday in the capital of Pennsylvania State, Roy was the lone runner in the 75 plus age group to complete the 26.2-mile marathon starting and finishing on the Market Street bridge near the entrance to City Island.

Roy, 77, who has run 12 marathons this year, two in India, eight in the US and two more in Canada, returns home next week to participate in one more run in Gurgaon in December before topping it off with his 100th marathon in Mumbai Jan 17, 2010.

“I felt so happy,” said the seasoned runner, who has participated in three marathons in the last one month, on taking one more step towards his coveted century of runs. But he was a bit disappointed that he could not better his timing in the last race due to an upset stomach.

Still a less than fit Roy bravely carried on to finish the race up and down a hilly course in six hours and 45 minutes - about four minutes more than his previous slowest of 6 hours 41 minutes in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC two weeks ago.

Roy is listed in the Limca Book of Records, and has, to date, competed in 20 countries outside India, including the International Veterans Marathon in Athens in 1986.

Roy, a resident of New Delhi, began running marathons at the age of 52 when he retired as a cardiologist working with the Indian Air Force. He has also penned a self-published book called the “Joy of Running”.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)