New Delhi: Indian runner Sufiya Khan has set a new Guinness World Record by running 6,002 km in a ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ in 110 days, 23 hours and 24 minutes.
She registered the fastest time by a woman to cover the challenge, which involves running on a network of highways connecting Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. The record is for the fastest time to travel the Indian Golden Quadrilateral on foot (female).
Her run started from New Delhi on 16 December 2020 and ended on April 6, 2021. The record was confirmed after Khan received her Guinness certificate on Sunday.
Khan, 35, ran the first marathon of her life in 2017. Just two years later, she started ultra-distance running and ran the Golden Quadrilateral network of highways.
She holds another Guinness World Record to her name – the fastest woman to run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (87 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes; April 25-July 21, 2019).
It a Guinness World Records and It's Officially Amazing!!🏆🏆🏆
SUFIYA KHAN is Fastest female to run along The Indian Golden Quadrilateral Road (6002km in 110 days 23 hours)
Congratulations Sufiya Khan!!💪💪💪🥇🥇🥇 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳#guinessworldrecord#girlpower #womenpowerment pic.twitter.com/w88kJIOBpP— Mohammad Mohsin I.A.S (@mmiask) March 28, 2022
“Once my interest piqued, I decided to quit my job and dive into ultra running full-time,” the athlete told sources.
“The fact that not many women do it in India doesn’t bother me. I’ll be happy if a lot more girls start running. I like to push the boundaries and test my limit,” she added.
If that’s not impressive enough, she has also traversed the 480 km Manali-Leh highway in 6 days, 12 hours, and 6 minutes.
Khan hails from Ajmer in Rajasthan. She got into running after quitting her decade-long job as a ground staff assistant at Delhi airport.
She took part in the 2017 Delhi Half Marathon but her first distance run was the gold triangle (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Delhi). She completed it in 16 days, 1 hour, and 27 minutes.
She is a self-taught athlete who is now being supported by sportswear giants Under Armour. Sufiya describes ultra-distance running as her passion. Ultra running is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres.
“Ultra-distance running is my passion and I have left my aviation job for it so I always have time for such a journey. I train myself for long runs. This was my third expedition of long-distance running in-country,” she said.
She already holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest woman to run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
