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MANGALORE: From running in a 40-metre school corridor near his house to maintain fitness to running a marathon on his prosthesis, 49-year-old Narayan Bhide from Mundaje in Dakshina Kannada has come a long way.

This discovery that he could run a marathon came 19 years after his leg was amputated above the knee due to bone tumour in 1995. He was egged on by his peers in "The Challenging Ones" group to give it a go in September last year. The group is founded by Major D P Singh, a Kargil war hero and amputee.

Bhide got a blade (prosthesis) at the Dakshin Rehabilitation Centre, Hyderabad, and by January this year, he had participated in three marathons of 5-10 km range. His next goal is to attempt a 21.5-km half marathon next year.

Bhide, who did his BCom at Ujire, studied law at Udupi. He practised law in Mumbai when he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone tumour. His leg was amputated six inches above the knee in November that year.

"It was not about a limb at that time; it was whether I would be alive after six months. Amputation was a relief. Since 1994, I had lived on painkillers and begged doctors to chop it off,’’ he says.

After the operation, he visited Mundaje in August 1995 on a holiday. "I think my leave has not ended. I’m on an extended holiday. Actually, I did not want to work after that,’’ he laughs. "I hated walking. So it was a blessing in disguise.’’

Bhide, who was more on the ground than in the classroom in his heyday, had captained his college cricket team. So when he first tried to run on his prosthesis, it was agonizing.

"I had to actually visualize how to run. Suddenly, I realized that my body did not have muscle memory. It was a painful process. I learnt from other blade runners. We had peer support and technique, and I could do it,’’ he says.

Bhide keeps fit by running and swimming at a pool he has built near his house. He is also a floriculturist, cultivating anthuriums, and also has a consultancy.