Paul Padinjarekara
Kochi : At 71, when most people are preoccupied with health concerns, Paul Padinjarekara, popularly known as Paulettan, is still chasing finish lines. The septuagenarian completed his 199th full marathon (42.2km) in Alappuzha on Thursday and is set to run his 200th on Friday morning. He will chase the milestone in Kollam, an ambition he has nurtured since 2021, when he completed his 100th in Ernakulam. On Dec 30, the day he turns 72, he is scheduled to run his 500th half marathon (21.1km). “Govt has organised 14 full marathons in 14 days, one in each district, to promote Operation Toofan. The passion lay dormant until he turned 60. Paul retired from Cochin Port Trust in 2014 as a superintendent engineer. A year later, he joined Soles of Cochin, a running club with over 1,000 runners, to hone his craft. He has clocked over 44,000km in 12 years, earning him the moniker ‘Ottakkarudey Lalettan’. In 2024, he finished the Dubai full marathon in 4 hours and 13 minutes, his personal best. “On my 62nd birthday, on an impulse, I ran from my home in Maradu, Kochi, to Neendapara, a distance of 62 miles.
Because i was afraid of arriving late and being chided by my headmaster, “During my school days, I used to run 8km to school and back. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
“Nobody in this state has completed 200 full marathons,” he told TOI . Through my runs, I want to spread this message among the youth,” he said. To prepare for full marathons, you need to clock at least 100km in the week before the event,” he said. “It is for my protein,” he quipped. Health, he says, is the greatest wealth. It is important to indulge in some physical activity,” he said.
The recent runs are part of the state govt’s ‘Operation Toofan’, a statewide anti-drug campaign. Drugs are a menace to society. To understand where Paul derives his endurance from, one needs to visit Neendapara, a quaint village tucked between Kothamangalam and Idukki and ringed by hills. I think this prepared me for my marathons later in life,” he recalled. Days after retirement, he ran his first full marathon, the Spice Coast Marathon in Ernakulam. “Anyone can take up running. For me, it is a way of life. His favourite run was not a race. It brought back childhood memories,” Paul recalled. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Unlike most marathon runners, Paul is not superstitious. The only thing he is particular about is eating five eggs every day. “Fancy designations and fat pay cheques count for nothing if your body is not in order. Paul thanked his wife and three children for supporting him every mile. His eldest daughter, Merin, works with IBM in Kakkanad, while his sons, identical twins Tom and Jerry, live in Austin, US, and London, respectively. Both are engineers. True to their namesakes in the popular cartoon series, the twins have spent years chasing each other across continents. Yet neither has managed to catch up with their father. Download the TOI App.