One-armed runner’s determination in the face of adversity

ONE man who will be running the 2025 Comrades Marathon is sure to inspire anyone to get up and run - and keep pushing until the end.

- YOGIN DEVAN

Even 54 years after a life-threatening infection resulted in the amputation of his left arm, Suresh Shankar Welankar, who lives in Thane, a city just outside Mumbai, India, will not quit taking on challenges.

He is fuelled by sheer willpower.

On Sunday, 58-year-old Welankar will line up with 24 000 other runners at the start of the “down run” outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, all with a single mission: to finish 89km later at Durban’s People’s Park within 12 hours.

At the age of 4, Welankar fell from a tree and the wound became gangrenous, necessitating amputation.

But he did not allow his disability to put him down and he completed school.

His impoverished background saw him delivering milk and newspapers, and washing cars to help support his family.

Welankar’s love for physical fitness, hard work and discipline, and a positive attitude gave him the strength and determination to overcome many obstacles.

At the age of 22, with sheer grit and determination, he completed the 550km Mumbai to Goa Bike Ride — with a single arm.

In 2021, when Welankar settled in Thane to give his children a better school education, he took up serious running after seeing hundreds of people running.