CME INDIA Presentation by Dr. S. N. Sethi, MD Medicine, Sethi Nursing Home, Kurukshetra.

Updated 20/10/2025

Running, no matter how little, may lower death risk to 27%. So just “Add 10 Min for Your Health”- New Japanese Recommendation for Physical Activity Based on Dose-Response Analysis.

Dr. Sethi has now covered over 309 marathons.

ChatGPT estimates that he is in the top 1% in his age group (for number of marathons).

Let us motivate ourselves for Running

• Studies show that running, even 5 to 10 min/day and at slow speeds <6 miles/h is very beneficial.
• It is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.
• This awareness may motivate healthy but sedentary individuals to begin and continue running for substantial and attainable mortality benefits.

The more I do, the more I realise that I AM AT THE TIP OF ICEBERG. Our basic focus should be fitness coupled with good nutrition, good sleep, strength training, yoga and meditation to keep our selves more in parasympathetic mode.

My double century marathon – 200th

It is full 42km covered in 4hours 30 minutes with Vo2max of 50 and fitness age of 20 years being among top 1% of my age.

Trouble after 160th marathon

My life took a challenging turn again when after 160th marathon, this time I got fracture patella. I was advised POP which somehow, I skipped and was on conservative treatment for one month. It was 21st fracture in my long list of 20 fractures already incurred at different stages of life (PIVD, wrist fracture both sides, 6 rib fractures both sides, fracture both bones left leg, intra-articular fracture of left knee, fracture right ankle. There is no part of my body without fracture.

But God rewarded me again, marathons which I was doing weekly before patella fracture, I was able to make it twice weekly. I have done 40 marathons in 4-1/2months.

I strongly feel that God has blessed us with immense powers which we don’t explore.

The more I do the more I feel I am at the tip of iceberg. Let us be role models for society and make life style a mass movement.

International Coverage at 102 marathons.

When I completed 102 marathons, I was covered widely in media internationally including USA and many foreign countries. The hall mark was that I have more than 20 fractures at different stages of life -(6 rib fracture both sides, both bones left leg, left knee, ankle fracture, Rt shoulder, very severe PIVD, (my left big toe is still numb).

Upon completion of the 150th marathon

Story of Dr. Sethi is so exciting

Dr. Sethi narrates:

• My age is 73 years.
• In 2011 while running on road, I met with a very severe road accident when my both bones of leg got comminuted fracture with intraarticular involvement with fracture of 6 ribs.
• I was operated in Ganga Ram, N. Delhi and was bed ridden for more than 3 months.
• I was told to forget about running.
• Before that, I was doing racing walk. Anyhow, very next year, I participated in IDBI. Marathon and then Airtel.
• It became my passion and perhaps obsession. I have done 300+ marathons.
• Journey of 309+ marathons includes:
  • One ultra marathon (50) km
  • 43 full marathons (42) km
  • 20 are 25km marathons.
  • 109 half marathons
• I stood 3rd in standard Chartered marathon, Mumbai-2017 in half marathon and stood 2nd in full marathon in 5th Hindustan marathon, New Delhi.
• Secured 3rd rank (Bronze Medal) in TUFFMAN Marathon held on 25-9-22 in half marathon in Chandigarh.
• In August,24 at 223rd marathon, while running, got very severe pain in abdomen and to rule out every thing, had to go through all investigations and was out of races for 2 months only to be blessed by Almighy to come back with a bang.
• 250th marathon being Apollo New Delhi marathon on 23rd February, 2025.
• My maximum VO2max has been 52 with fitness age of 20 yrs.

• I attribute all this to yoga, disciplined life, regular sleep, gym. strengthening and swimming.
• I personally feel God has given us immense potentials which we don’t use.
• I was topper of Punjab university at time of admission to medical college, Patiala in 1971… what a great change perhaps destiny wanted the things to happen like this.

For success, I think there are 3Ds

1. Determination
2. Discipline
3. Dedication

And 3Cs

1. Consistency
2. Consistency
3. And Consistency Only

Passion Does Not Listen to Any Thing, So Could Not Wait For 25th September

Did my 100th – Centurian – marathon covered in 2 hours 18minutes because it is just 5 days after my 99th marathon when body was in recovery phase, so it comprised my normal timing of 2 hours 9 minutes.

Till date, I have done 309+ marathons. I have participated in Boston, New York marathons (virtual), Singapore marathon excelling my records.

My best timings are:

Full – 4 hours 14 minutes

Half – 1 hour 55 minutes

Most memorable events are:

• Boston Marathon (virtual)
• Singapore Marathon
• Standard chartered Mumbai – 3rd rank in half marathon
• Hindustan marathon, New Delhi – 2nd rank

Tri-city magazine from Boston published Dr. Sethi’s story

• Dr. Sethi serves as a running inspiration to all. He was born in Punjab, India, and is 73-year-old.
• He is an Internal Medicine Physician and an avid runner, recently completing his 300th marathon in 2025.
• In 2011, while running on the roads of Kurukshetra, India, Dr. Sethi suffered a bad road accident which resulted in a comminuted fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left leg and six ribs, leaving him bed-ridden for over three months.
• Treating surgeons told him that running was out of the question for him, stating that “even being able to walk without help would be a miracle for him.”
• Dr. Sethi refused to yield to this medical prophecy.

“When I was bed-ridden, and fractured, I still wanted to run. The moment I was cured, the first thing that I started attempting was running”

“Because I have a lot of endurance, I can run four to six hours or more at a time.”

• Slowly, he went onto participate in walking races and began running marathons at the beginning of 2015, four years after his injury. In the last six months, Dr. Sethi has been running marathons on a weekly basis and has participated in 16 42.2 km marathons and one 50 km Ultramarathon. Dr. Sethi names the 2021 Virtual Boston Marathon to be his most memorable. He earned an overall time of 4 hours and 43 minutes and ranked 31st in his age category of 70-75 out of 176 participants.

“Age is only a number, and to not let it inhibit anyone from pursuing running. Running is my life. I cannot remain without running. If someone asked me ‘what is the one thing you would like the most in this life’ I would say that I would like to die on the ground while running, indirectly meaning that I will be running up to the last moment of my life; it is my life-long passion.”- Dr. Sethi

“God has given us immense potential which we hardly use running is an essential part of maintaining good health. Running is simple, you don’t need any equipment, and it is accessible to do all the time. If somebody wants to maintain good health, running marathons is a great way to achieve that.” – Dr. Sethi

CME INDIA Learning Points

• One very important meta-analysis showed that running participation is associated with 27%, 30% and 23% lower risk of all-cause cardiovascular and cancer mortality compared with no running.
  • For cardiovascular (HR=0.70; 95% CI 0.49 to 0.98)
  • For cancer (HR=0.77; 95% CI 0.68 to 0.87)
• Also, a meta-regression analysis showed no significant dose–response trends for weekly frequency, weekly duration, pace and the total volume of running.
• Be assured that increased rates of participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to substantial improvements in health and longevity.
• Any amount of running, even just once a week, is better than no running, but higher doses of running may not necessarily be associated with greater mortality benefits.
• Long-distance running also provides physiological benefits for the human body
• Long-distance running can reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
• Have proper assessment before starting running. Running can cause bone stress injury, bronchospasm, cramps, blisters, and other issues.
• It has helped people become healthier and happier for millions of years
• It has been shown to have an impact on the psychological function of sleep as well.
• According to one study, here were 3 major findings (2)

1. Runners had consistently lower risks of all-cause and CVD mortality compared with non-runners.

2. Running even at lower doses or slower speeds was associated with significant mortality benefits.

3. Persistent running over time was more strongly associated with mortality reduction.

• Physicians should explain to patients the significant mortality benefits of running even as little as 5-10 minutes daily.
• Physicians should try to motivate patients to start running and to continue
  running as an attainable health goal.

Credit: Lee D, Pate RR, Lavie CJ, Sui X, Church TS, Blair SN. Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. J Am CollCardiol 2014;64:472–81.

• One systematic review synthesised result of 14 studies from six prospective cohorts with a pooled sample of more than 230 000 participants.
• The main finding is that running participation is associated with 27%, 30% and 23% reduced risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, respectively.
• Even the smallest doses of running that were examined in the available studies (i.e., ≤1 time a week, <50 min a week, <6 mph and <500 MET-min/week) has been found to confer significant all-cause mortality benefits.
• There is no evidence that mortality benefits increase with greater amounts of running.

CME INDIA Tail Piece

Running prevalence

European countries:

• 31% in Denmark
• 19% in Belgium
• 18% in the Netherlands
• 15% in Finland
• 13% in Germany
• 6% in Spain
• 5% in the UK

References:

• Lee D, Pate RR, Lavie CJ, Sui X, Church TS,Blair SN. Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. J Am CollCardiol 2014;64:472–81.
• Lee DC, Pate RR, Lavie CJ, Sui X, Church TS, Blair SN. Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Aug 5;64(5):472-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2014.04.058. Erratum in: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Oct 7;64(14):1537. PMID: 25082581; PMCID: PMC4131752.
• Pereira HV, Palmeira AL, Encantado J,Marques MM, Santos I, Carraça EV and Teixeira PJ (2021) Systematic
  Review of Psychological and Behavioral Correlates of RecreationalRunning. Front. Psychol. 12:624783.
  doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624783
• https://pitjournal.unc.edu/article/long-distance-running-investigation-its-impact-human-health
• Pedisic Z, Shrestha N, Kovalchik S, et al Is running associated with a lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, and is the more the better? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:898-905

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