VIKRAM RAI | SETTING HIS OWN PACE

A TGIF! cover story…
Growing up, Vikram (Vikrun) Rai was never into sport activities. He preferred sitting in front of his computer editing videos all day. Editing videos was his forte. Soon, his friends gave him nicknames like ‘Lappu’ (day-dreamer) and ‘Loris’, after slow Loris, the mammal who is deliberately slow.
Today, at 43, Vikram is a marathoner with over 210 medals, a India Book of Records title holder, an educationalist, a PhD scholar, a social worker and a former journalist.
Rai started running marathons in 2015. He recently completed the BMW Berlin Marathon, where he ran alongside 45000 runners from across the world. Eliud Kipchoge, arguably the greatest marathon runner, shattered his own marathon world record at the 48th edition of the Berlin Marathon.
Vikram is among the few runners from the region who runs in vibrams, a minimalist running slipper meant to replicate being barefoot and has thin flexible soles that are contoured around the shape of a human foot. Recently, he got his name etched in the India Book of Records by completing a full marathon wearing vibrams in a foreign country, i.e. the Berlin Marathon.
Vikram Rai is a long distance runner from Darjeeling town. An alumnus of St. Joseph’s School (North Point), Darjeeling, he is among the first batch to study Commerce in the school in 1997. He is also one of the first from Darjeeling hills to pursue Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
With the aim to pursue a career in media, Vikram moved to Mumbai to live his dream. He got an opportunity to assist cinematographer/director Binod Pradhan in Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Devdas. Unfortunately, he had to come back home due to personal reasons. He took a break for almost two years, and later pursued master’s degree from Guru Jambheshwar University, Haryana (through distance education).
At that time, he had established his own production house ‘Iris Productions’, where he was making videos. Prior to Iris Productions, Vikram was part of another production house ‘Studio 69’, the first production house from Darjeeling to make the music video for Darjeeling’s own band ‘Mantra’.
In 2005, he was called by the then principal of St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling, as his name was proposed as a professor for a Career Oriented Programme (COP) for a new subject ‘Mass Communication’ that was being introduced in Darjeeling hills. The COP later became a full-fledged department, with Rai as its first head of the department (HOD).
At age 40, Vikram decided to pursue PhD in Mass Communication from North Bengal University. He is the first batch to pursue PhD in Mass Communication from North Bengal University.
Yes! There are many firsts for Vikram Rai.
Here is Vikram’s exclusive interview with TGIF!
Getting into running
Vikrun: Back in the days, I had a different kind of lifestyle. My friends had given me nicknames like Lappu and Loris. Lappus was an Indian television series character, who was a daydreamer. I used to daydream a lot and maybe, that was the reason I never participated in any sporting activities. It was up to the extent where I didn’t even take part in the school march past. I remember not participating in three Sports day celebrations, citing various excuses. I was instead given the responsibility to usher guests during sports day.
My lack of interest in sports was even more during my college days. I was keen on video editing and spent most of my college days behind the computer screen. Editing videos was my strength, maybe because video editing is an art or a skill where you don’t need to move around.
After completing my education, we started organizing the Darjeeling carnival, where too I was in charge of editing videos.
Maybe because of my lifestyle then, I wasn’t forthcoming to any physical activities. In 2013-14, I got seriously ill. First, my uric acid went up and for the first time, I got a gout attack. I ran through a lot of medical tests and the doctors found that my cholesterol level was above 310. It was a serious condition and the doctors advised me to adopt a healthy lifestyle. I was 37-38 back then, and so I started to run.
Having hated sports all my life, it was really difficult for me to run. Even a round i.e. 1.5 km was tough, so I adopted the run-walk-run method. My first run was for MARG NGO in 2015.
In 2016, I completed my first 10 km run. It was organized by the Rotary Club of Darjeeling. It was a huge achievement for me, and that was the time I realized that I can run more.
Once, I started running, I realized that there is so much more to do in life. It gave me a new dimension because I never thought I could run marathons. From 2016-19, I participated in more marathons. From 10 km run, I upgraded to 20 km, 25 km, 42km, 50 km etc.
In February 2020, I participated in the Mumbai Marathon, the largest marathon in Asia. I completed my run in 5 hrs 20 mins. It was a huge struggle for me because it was my first 42k full marathon.
Berlin Marathon
Vikrun: Berlin Marathon was a dream-come-true. Being a journalist, I have always been fond of history and Germany has a rich history. During my years as a journalist, I had interviewed Late Madan Tamang. That was the time I had seen a piece of the Berlin Wall in his living room. Since then, the Berlin Wall has always fascinated me. So, this year, I decided to apply for the marathon. Also, Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner was participating in the marathon.
I got the entry, but visa was the problem. I was supposed to travel to Berlin on September 22, as the run was on September 25. As it was my first Europe visit, little did I know it was difficult to get the Schengen visa. I got a slot ­­­for the Schengen visa in the first week of September, and was expecting to receive the visa in two weeks, but until September 16, there was no news. Soon, I got in touch with ex-foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who is from Darjeeling and with his help I got the visa and passport a day-before the run. I think I was destined to run the Berlin marathon.
I wanted to run with a cause, so I ran with the tagline ‘Darjeeling to Berlin’. Everyone gave me thumbs up as they liked the concept.
I had earlier participated in a run with marathoner Roshni Rai. Her ‘Run with Roshni’ campaign has a slogan ‘We are Gorkha’s, Proud to be Indians’, because everyone is talking about Darjeeling’s identity crisis. I asked her if I could use the slogan and she agreed.
Nobody will know you internationally but the nation you are from. In Berlin I introduced myself and said I was from Darjeeling, I was amazed to see that people did know where Darjeeling is. We are always talking about Darjeeling’s identity but at the international level, the world knows us.
I completed the Berlin Marathon in 4 hrs 17 mins, with a smile on my face because I believe running should never be stressful. I don’t focus on pace and positions, but completing the run with a smile on my face.
There were around 45000 runners from across the world. The elevation is Berlin is such that records can be broken. Eliud Kipchoge broke his own record. I broke my own record because I ran much faster and completed the marathon one and a half faster than the Mumbai marathon.
India Book of Records
Vikrun: I don’t run wearing regular running shoes, but with vibrams, a minimalist running shoes. Vibram is natural barefoot running gear, with soft gel that feels like you are running barefoot. I was introduced to vibrams by actor/model/runner Milind Sonam in 2020. Since then, I cannot run wearing regular shoes.
I was the first runner from India to complete the marathon wearing vibrams in Berlin Marathon. I didn’t know it was an achievement until I received the recognition from India Book of Records. There were runners from other countries wearing vibrams during the Berlin run, but when I think of now, I was the only one from India.
I am happy because I had never won a sport related award in my life. I feel honored.
Barefoot running is not a new thing in India, there are many runners in India who run barefoot or with vibrams. Soon, I want to join the barefoot running club.
Transition: Vikram to Vikrun
Vikrun: The Covid pandemic hit in 2020. It was a time where a lot of things were born because people, especially the youth were coming back to Darjeeling and many small businesses were born.
For me, it was different because during the pandemic I decided to take my passion for running further. As I enjoy running solo during my practice, the pandemic was the perfect opportunity for me. Covid gave a perfect environment to run, as you were allowed to run solo in the mornings in Darjeeling. Since it was the lockdown and colleges were shut down, I got more time to run.
But soon, we started to witness a lot of people suffer due to Covid. Most people had wealth and fortune, but couldn’t do much because their health was deteriorating. At the end of the day, health is wealth, and Covid taught me that. So, from Vikram, I transitioned to Vikrun and decided to establish ‘Vikrun Foundation’, with the aim to help people during the pandemic.
Vikrun Foundation
Vikrun: For me, ‘Vikrun’ basically means transformation. Initially, we started with motivating youth to run, because with running comes discipline, stability and consistency, and these are some of the qualities missing in youths, as of today. With the aim to make these youths aware, Vikrun Foundation was established in 2020.
I had always wanted to do something to inspire people but I think I wasn’t motivated enough. Covid gave me an inspiration and we started doing social work too.
For our first service, we started distributing free oxygen cylinders, as oxygen concentrators were only available in Darjeeling and they were expensive. We conducted a donation drive, and managed to get five oxygen cylinders. Today, we have around 40 oxygen cylinders and until this day, we give out free oxygen cylinders to people in need, when available. As we do not have an oxygen plant, we get the cylinders refilled from Siliguri.
We have also conducted a free diabetic check-up camp.
For students who lost their parents to Covid, we conducted a free aid legal aid service where we helped in raising money and paid the student’s fee, including uniforms.
Then came a big story. Kalina Rai, a tea worker became popular after a video of her being interviewed by a news reporter in Hindi language went viral on social media. In a broken Hindi, she appealed the government to build a proper house for her family as she was living in small and kuccha house. Although her video went viral, no help was provided. Vikrun Foundation donated Rs 50,000 for the construction of her house. GTA chief executive Anit Thapa later constructed a new house for her. She got something new because of Vikrun Foundation, which is again a huge transformation for me.
As the core-founder of Vikrun Foundation, my aim is to make Darjeeling healthy, not just physically but healthy in mind.
Today, Vikrun Foundation has 14 core members, and a total of 50 members and groups who work with us on voluntary basis.
Gundri Bazaar
Vikrun: Once Covid was a little down, we decided to work on something else. We were conducting marathons across Darjeeling hills, but we also wanted to engage the talented youths. Vikrun Foundation, along with Decible Events proprietor Mohanish Lama, decided to organize Gundri Bazaar, the one-of-its-kind entrepreneurship market. Mohanish is an event manager but due to the pandemic, no events were happening so he founded his company ‘Dalli’s Dalle’.
The major problem in the hills is ‘brain drain’. A lot of young talented youths want to move out of Darjeeling because they believe there is less opportunity here. Young parents too want to send their kids to the cities because they feel education is better in the cities. But Covid gave us a different purview. All the youths were coming back home during the pandemic, because home was the safest place to be. Now that these talented youths are back to Darjeeling, they were coming up with their own small businesses. We wanted to give them a platform, and so we started Gundri Bazaar, a three-day entrepreneurship market, where young entrepreneurs showcase their products. Gundri Bazaar was established because if all the talented youths go out of Darjeeling, it is a big loss for Darjeeling. How will Darjeeling ever benefit?
The event has picked up in the hills and for the past two years, we have been successfully hosting the event.
Inspiration
Vikrun: My wife Sandy and my twins Maya and Tara are my biggest strength and inspiration. They are the ones who push me to run. Many people ask me about the marathons I have run so far. Recently, I made my kids count the medals, and the medal tally was 210, which includes three full marathons.
Biggest achievement as a runner
Vikrun: My first Rotary Club 10k run is my biggest achievement as a runner because that was what transitioned me from Vikram to Vikrun. It made me stronger as a person.
Preparation before marathon
Vikrun: Before a marathon, you have to be mentally prepared and train yourself. Discipline and commitment are important, so every day I set a goal.
I mix marathon with exercise so I hit the gym too. I strength train because after you run about 35 kms in a full marathon, you may have the stamina but you still need the core strength to keep running.
My training is basically run, exercise and strength training.
What next?
Vikrun: The marathon season has started. After my first Mumbai full marathon (2020), I will be going back to Mumbai for the Mumbai marathon in January 2023. This time I want to run a bit faster. With years of experience, I want to break my own record. I am looking forward to the run.
Next I will be participating in the Tata Steel Kolkata Run and Sandakphu Hell Race. I am also planning to participate in the Tokyo marathon in 2023 or 2024.
The Abbott World Marathon Majors is a series consisting of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon. I have completed the Berlin Marathon and in the next 20 years, my goal is to complete the remaining five marathons.
Organising marathons
Vikrun: Since I organise marathons, I pick up a lot of ideas from the marathons I participate outside Darjeeling. Inspired by the Berlin Marathon, this year, we conducted a plastic-free Darjeeling Police marathon. No PET bottles were used.
I have always dreamt about making Darjeeling the marathon capital of the nation. The routes here are beautiful. Anywhere you go, you will not find people as supportive as Darjeelingeys. They will come and cheer for you and make sure the last guys finishes. That is the beauty of Darjeeling.
Darjeeling is popular for tea and tourism, but should also be popular as a running destination.
We will soon invite runner Mira Rai for an interaction with runners from Darjeeling. We also want to take our runners the same path as Meera had taken.  
Getting into teaching
Vikrun: I joined St Joseph’s College, Darjeeling as a faculty in 2005. First it was a career oriented programme (COP). Later, Mass Communication became a department and my first batch passed out was in 2008. It has been 17 years of teaching now.
We are the only Mass Communication department in Darjeeling hills and I am proud to say that there have been many promising students who are doing wonders professionally. This gives me strength and my students give me passion. I was the first HoD, and now I have again been appointed as HoD for the second term.  
Teaching or running? What do you enjoy more?
Vikrun: Something that I don’t enjoy is my 9 am classes because then you have to rush everything. Apart from that, I love my students and St. Joseph’s College. We have the pleasure of meeting and working with students every day. They are the ones who give us strength and teach us so many things. As a teacher, you get to learn so much from students, because Mass Communication is an evolving subject.  
Journalism stint
Vikrun: I worked as a stringer for NDTV and correspondent for Channel 10, a Bengali news channel. Since I am a media person, I am always hungry for news. I worked as a journalist for about seven years.
I was also the press secretary for Darjeeling Press Guild for a term.
Now, Vikrun Foundation and my PhD takes a lot of time, so I don’t get time for journalism. Whenever I can, I do write articles here and there.
Working in Devdas
Vikrun: I got a chance to work under maestro Binod Pradhan for a month in Devdas and it was a good learning experience. It was a month-long internship, where we shot the famous song ‘Dola Re’. He was really punctual, so when we were late in the sets, he used to get fired up. If it was Vikrun, I think I could’ve done so much more with that kind of opportunity I got back then, but I just let it go. I think I couldn’t hang on to it. I should have gone back and tried. But I am happy with my life now, as I can do so much more with Vikrun Foundation for Darjeeling. I can touch and change people’s life.
That way, I don’t have regret but sometimes I do think I could have learnt more from Binod Pradhan. I wasn’t consistent then. That was around 2002.
I have made documentaries and films on various subjects under various projects for three years, where I involved my students.
In future I want to come up with a story, based on running
Advice to young runners
Vikrun: Run at your own pace. Don’t compete with other runners. You be your own runner. At the same time, be disciplined, consistent, and dedicated to run every day.