Vinod Bajaj is walking his way into Limerick history books

Vinod Bajaj is walking his way into Limerick history books. Vinod Bajaj from Limerick pictured above hopes to make the Guinness World Records

Limerick’s Vinod Bajaj has walked the equivalent of circling the Earth 2.5 times since beginning his journey almost 10 years ago

For nearly four decades, Limerick has been home to Vinod Bajaj, who has recently achieved the incredible milestone of completing 100,010 kilometres on his walking journey, the equivalent of circling the Earth 2.5 times.

At 75 years old, Vinod, a retired business consultant who once held senior roles in multinational companies, began his walking journey in August 2016 with a simple goal of staying healthy. Vinod explained in the first nine months of his journey, he lost 20kg, noting, “I did not have to make any adjustments to eating habits as I was shedding 1400
calories per day.”

Along his first “walk around the Earth”, Vinod found inspiration to write his first book, “Pension Without Tension,” published in 2021.

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Vinod’s walking routine is as impressive as the distances he’s covered with an early start and an aim to finish in the late afternoon, walking in different intervals depending on the weather.

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.”

His paths cover a 10 km radius around his Castletroy home, without a strict route and a vision that he can walk anywhere, even within his own home, with all steps tracked on his fitness app.

On September 26, 2020, Vinod completed his first circumnavigation of the globe in 1,496 days (40,107 km). His second Earth walk, completed on October 10, 2023, took just 1,114 days (40,097 km)—beating his own record by 382 days. In total, he’s taken about 128 million steps over 3,100+ consecutive days, with an average of 32 km per day, including 223 marathons and 29 ultra-marathons of 50 km in a single day. He’s also gone through 24 pairs of runners.

Having set a third goal of more than 100 thousand kilometres, Vinod smashed that milestone when he achieved it in April 2025.

Giving advice to people who want to begin their own walking journey, Vinod says to “Make sure you walk continuously for at least 30 minutes at a time to be effective,” and he says discipline and self-motivation are very important.

“Set a daily goal and improve it over a period of time, gradually,” Vinod advises, adding, “Make sure you have the right clothes for the weather and invest in a good pair of runners and socks.”

Finally, he simply says to “listen to your body and seek advice if required”.

Vinod plans to apply for Guinness World Record recognition, noting no one in the GWR database has come close to his feat. Looking toward his next goal, the Limerick walker said, “Just slow down and write my second book.”