At the ‘young’ age of 94, Nanjundabhatta Subbarao Dattatreya is running strong and is in the happiest of health. Meet this ageless wonder who has participated in more than 100 marathons and walkathons in his inspiring life. “For me, health is wealth,” he says.
Dattatreya retired as the branch manager at the State Bank of Mysore’s Wilson Gardens branch in 1989. He has retired but is never tired of running. “After retirement, my physical activity became less. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So, I started volunteering in temple activities. To be active, I started walking daily. Then I began participating in running events. Many participants appreciated and congratulated me. That motivated me and I began to run in more and more events,” says the soft-spoken man.
Though he has not had any formal training, to date, he has participated in 71 events physically and 52 virtually, winning five gold medals at the 21st Asian masters athletic championship in Malaysia, eight gold and one silver medal at the Karnataka State and National Masters Athletic meet respectively.
“My father is very interested in participating in running events. After the runs, he is very happy. Many participants speak to him, get his blessings and take photos with him. Due to this, I always observe a sparkle, a smile and happiness on his face,” says his son, Murali Dattatreya.
During his younger days, NS Dattatreya used to play football and volleyball. “But his professional duties did not permit him to take up regular sporting activities,” recalls Murali.
But after retirement, Dattatreya decided to turn things around. “Now, I get up by 5 am and do my regular morning warm-ups and stretches. I also do 30 to 45 minutes of cycling at home itself. I also do some gardening. I visit temples regularly and do volunteer work. These things keep me busy and active,” he says.
Dattatreya says that he runs not only to keep his fitness on track but also to be a role model for young people. “I want to inspire young people who I find are immersed in the virtual world. They should know that there’s a life outside the virtual world. If they can make walking or running a part of their daily life, it will be great,” he says. He notes that walking and running are simple, yet very effective physical activities. “While running, you can be in touch with many runners and can make many good friends and well-wishers too,” he adds.
Though he says that he has no fixed diet and sticks to mildly spiced vegetarian food, his fitness routine is well charted out. Before the pandemic, he used to run six times a week. “Now I run two to three times a week. In major events, I run ten kilometres and in regular events, I do the five-kilometre race. Recently, I also competed in the Bengaluru half marathon,” he points out.
We ask him what keeps him motivated in life and he is all smiles. “My happiness comes from my systematic way of life. I stay calm and remain cool always. I also speak less. My willpower, commitment and consistency have brought me happiness. My support system is my family. Age is just a number. Interest, involvement and willpower are more important. And running gives me confidence. Everyone’s love, motivation and appreciation inspire me to live more and do more. My interest in life is always increasing,” he says.
He admits that his biggest dream in life now is to win a gold medal at the World Masters Athletic meet, apart from participating in running events at the age of 100. “I want to inspire all to have good health. If we take care of our health, our family will also be happy. We can serve the needy and we can be happy ourselves,” he says.
