A participation in the 100km ultramarathon on the rough terrain of Bhati mines on the Delhi-Faridabad border in late 2013 changed the course of Sanjay Mangla's life – From working in a finance sector to entering into the endurance sports industry. 

Working as an insurance agent and financial consultant in Delhi, with hardly any exposure to professional running, Mangla got himself registered in a 100km ultra running event held in October 2013.

His training for the debut ultramarathon started with a daily run of 3km and by the time he could increase the training run to 10km, the D-day had arrived. Without any exposure of running in any long distance event, Mangla not only completed the100km run in the very first go, but also finished third. 

“I completed the run in 22 hours and in between I only took a rest for 15 minutes. That run introduced me to the world of running, especially ultramarathon,” recalls Mangla, 50. “As it was a rough terrain, running on it was not easy, especially for a debutant. There were shorter distance runs too in the event, so only few dare to opt for the 100km. Eventually, I finished third, and the performance earned me a name in the country's ultra running circuit.”

“After that I started regularly competing in the ultra runs and over the period, I got so much involved in running that I decided to switch my profession from finance sector to organizing endurance sports events,” adds Mangla. 

In 2014 June, he organised his first running event in Shimla under the banner of 'Get Set Run'.

“I organised it just to give it a try on the sports event management front. I got a good response and decided to leave the finance sector for my new destination,” says Mangla. “After organizing a couple of runs under the banner of Get Set Run, I formed the ‘Tuffman’ in 2016. Since then I have been organizing all the endurance events, including running and triathlon, under the 'Tuffman' banner,” he adds. “Encouraging people to run is a best way to contribute to society. I hope to see everyone indulging in physical fitness.”  

To be continued...