This Hyderabad-origin man wins half marathon in Antarctica

Hyderabad: From competing in Limca races to being the only person of Indian origin to win the half marathon in Antarctica, Mohan Ambati’s journey is a fascinating one.

“It was a unique experience. It was like I was on a different planet, rather than a continent,” said Ambati, 53, a Hyderabadi settled in the United States, about completing the Antarctica Half Marathon in January 2022.

Among the total of 49 runners, he was able to finish this 13-mile race with a time of 2:26.30 and came second in the men’s event and was the first in his age group, as well as the first among the USA men’s team.

Ambati was a state and university champion runner in India during his university days, winning medals in a variety of events. He has also competed in a 10K and a 20K in India and has participated in one international competition.

“Limca races were the initial races I participated in which brought out my potential as a runner and there’s no looking back from then,” he said.

Ambati moved to the US in 1998 to pursue further education. He returned to running in 2018 to motivate himself from his monotonous work as a chief information officer at The Indiana Department of Health, which required hours of sitting in front of a computer screen. He set a goal of one half-marathon
on each continent each year.

He ran a half-marathon at the Great Wall of China at 2:39:35 in 2019. Due to the Covid pandemic, his plans did take a backseat— though he registered for the Antarctica race in 2019, he wasn’t guaranteed a spot until 2023. However, in late November 2021, he learned that a spot in January had become available, leaving him with little time to prepare for the marathon.

The weather on race day was less extreme, at 38 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degree C). In addition, he expressed gratitude for his fate as he was not tested positive throughout the trip, allowing him to explore other parts of Antarctica.

Ambati is planning for an Australian marathon next, followed by Europe. He said that he has a ‘Himalayan’ trip in his mind too. He hopes to finish a half-marathon in all 50 states of the USA.