Most people retire from competitive sport long before they retire from work. For N S Dattatreya, a former manager with the State Bank of Mysore, the opposite is true. He retired from banking in 1989, spent three decades living quietly in Bengaluru, and then, in January 2019, laced up a pair of running shoes for the very first time at the age of 91 and entered his first marathon.

He has not stopped since.

At 98, Dattatreya has participated in nearly 300 marathons and walkathons, won five gold medals at the 21st Asia Masters Athletics Championship in Malaysia, and continues to be a regular face at Bengaluru's running events, including the TCS World 10K, one of India's most prestigious road races.

But the numbers, remarkable as they are, are not really what drives him.

"I want to be a role model for young people," he has said. "They should realise there is a life outside the virtual world and make walking or running 5 km a day an important part of their daily routine."

From a football field to a starting line

Dattatreya was a sportsman long before running entered his life. As a schoolboy, he was part of his school's football team, and a sense of physical discipline stayed with him through decades of professional life. Even during the demanding years of his banking career, he maintained a habit of staying fit, though formal competition remained on the sidelines.

After three decades of retirement, something shifted. A growing interest in distance running, combined with a desire to do something meaningful with his energy, led him to sign up for........

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