'Limerick’s answer to Forrest Gump' walks circumference of earth for second time
Vinod Bajaj has walked nearly 82,000km since 2016.
Indian-born Limerick resident Vinod Bajaj has walked the distance of the circumference of the earth for the second time — without leaving the Treaty city.
The 73-year-old retired business consultant started walking in August 2016 initially to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle but after a couple of months of walking he was deep in a lifestyle change.
Mr Bajaj explained that when he hit the 8,000km mark, he realised his efforts equated to the distance between Ireland and India, which motivated him to keep going.
He said he lost 20kg in the first nine months of the challenge and maintained his calorie intake after that.
On September 26, 2020, he completed his first ‘earth walk’, which equated to 40,107km over 1,496 days.
“I did not have to make any adjustments to eating habits as I was shedding 1,600 calories per day.”
Fast forward to October 10 this year, Mr Bajaj completed his second ‘earth walk’ in 1,114 days, over a year faster than his first attempt.
Over the seven-year spell, the Castletroy resident burnt about 3.2 million calories in 21 different pairs of runners.
He applied to the Guinness World Records for recognition of his tremendous achievement in 2020, which was unsuccessful as his evidence and journey did not meet the criteria to qualify for an assessment.
However, he reapplied for recognition last week and he expects a response from Guinness World Records early next year.
“This time I put an application called ‘Greatest Cumulative Distance Walked Solo on Foot'.
"The ‘walked’ part is important because it implies I did not use a bicycle or I did not use any rowing or any equipment like a treadmill,” he added.
The husband and father-of-one admitted that although he has walked nearly 82,000km to date, he is not strolling away from walking for leisure.
“I will continue to walk but reduce the distance and duration. Walk[ing] has become my daily routine.”
He has set his sights on 100,000km walked.
Mr Bajaj starts his daily stroll in the early hours of the morning each day and finishes up in the early afternoon.
“I walked all year-round in all kinds of weather, predominantly outside,” he added.
However, he did not follow a specific route “but walked within five to ten kilometres range from my house in Castletroy”.
Mr Bajaj dubbed himself "Limerick’s answer to Forrest Gump".
“Forrest Gump walked/ran a total of 24,539km in 1,140 days, which is 21km per day,” he joked.
When asked to provide helpful tips and tricks for those interested in walking for leisure, he said: "Make sure you walk for at least 30 minutes at a time to be effective."
He also advises people to wear suitable clothing and footwear and set realistic daily goals to gradually improve on as time progresses.
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