Vinod Bajaj walked the Earth twice all without leaving Limerick

Vinod Bajaj has walked the distance of the circumference of Earth twice and is on a journey to 100,000 Kilometres

Vinod Bajaj has walked the distance of the circumference of Earth twice and is on a journey to 100,000 Kilometres

By Cian Reinhardt, Editor

73-year-old Indian-born Irishman, Vinod Bajaj, has walked the distance of the circumnavigation of Earth twice all within Limerick.

A resident of Limerick for nearly four decades, Vinod began his walking journey in August 2016, and has since taken more than 104.7 million steps covering an astounding more than 81,163 kilometres.

What started as a challenge with the personal goal of losing weight, quickly evolved into a lifestyle as he has shed an impressive 3.1 million calories throughout his walking journey, resulting in a substantial improvement in his overall health. 

Shedding an initial 20 kilograms, Mr Bajaj maintained his newfound fitness and saw a transformation in his physical well-being.

Vinod told I Love Limerick, “I started walking sometime around August 2016, and my objective was that I wanted to remain active in my retirement and I wanted to make sure I am healthy. At the time I was a little on the overweight side, I wouldn’t call myself obese at that time, but I was a little bit heavy so I said, ‘look, maybe I need to lose some weight.’

“So I started walking, it started initially maybe 10 to 15 kilometres, then to 20, 25, then to 30, 35, then to 40 and 50. In the first one year of my walk, I shed about 20 kg.”

He explained he is now at a point where he is at a healthy weight and is maintaining it even though he hasn’t changed his eating habits, he just works on a calorie deficit.

“When I kept walking, I noticed my app was adding all the numbers and in the first year I found I had something like 8,000 kilometres, and when I checked it I said, ‘Okay, I’ve walked to India,’ and I was born in India so thought that was great.

Vinod explained on his walking journey he noticed some milestones in distance come up, such as walking the circumference of the moon, then Mars, and when thought about what next and thought about the circumference of Earth, saying it is about twice the size of Mars and thought, “That’s a lot of walking to be done yet. I kept walking and walking and on September 31, 2020, I completed my first walk of 40,170 kilometres which was the circumference of Earth and I felt good about it.”

He completed his second distance of the circumference of the Earth on October 10, 2023, saying the second circumference was done in almost a year less than the first and “I’m still walking”, making sure to take a walk every day averaging more than 30 kilometres per day.

Walking became more than just a physical pursuit; it was a source of inspiration and creativity where he conceived the idea for his book, “Pension Without Tension,” which was published in 2021. Despite the incredible distances he covered, Vinod emphasised the importance of discipline, self-motivation, and setting gradual goals for aspiring walkers. 

He advised newcomers to invest in quality walking attire, and a good pair of runners, and to listen to their bodies, he told I Love Limerick, “Any step is a good step, aim for 10,000 steps a day, if you can’t do that, aim for three times per week.

Pension Without Tension is a new book by Vinod Bajaj, which covers almost everything a reader could want to know about Irish pensions and benefits @PietaHouse. @vinodbajajbook #lovelimerick #ilovelimerick #limerick #limerickedgeembrace #limerickcity https://t.co/wL82DWZPSt— #LimerickandProud (@ilovelimerick) November 5, 2021

“If you think that you can’t do it because of your health, maybe you have knee pain, arthritis, try to remain active sometimes. You can walk inside the house if you want to, because I say, ‘Every step is a good step,’ remain active and be healthy, that’s important. Set a goal for yourself, start small maybe one day you can do 5,000 steps another day 7,000, but try walk continuously for at least 30 minutes, because when you work for 30 minutes you are pumping your heart.”

Having walked more than 200 marathons during the time and averaging more than 30 kilometres per day by walking for 6 plus hours each day, he has set his sights on an ambitious new goal: to cover a staggering 100,000 kilometres.

“I’ve set a target for myself for the next one, I will be happy if I can get to 100,000 kilometres,” Vinod told I Love Limerick comparing himself to Forest Gump who in the movie famously walked through the USA, he noted “I will be three times of Forest Gump. Forest Gump, he did probably 24,950 kilometres in that movie and I did maybe three times more than that.”

For more on Guinness World Records, go here

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