In an extraordinary feat that blends athletic endurance with corporate messaging, Arun Misra, the Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Zinc, completed his first-ever full marathon in late October. The unique venue was not a sun-drenched city street but the depths of a zinc mine in Sweden, where he ran what Guinness World Records has certified as the World's Deepest Marathon.
An Unconventional Race for a Strategic Goal
The 59-year-old CEO was among 55 participants from 18 countries who descended into the Garpenberg mine, located about 180 km northwest of Stockholm. For Misra, the decision to run stemmed from his company's membership in the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). When the ICMM decided to support the event, Misra felt his personal participation was crucial. "It would have meant very little for Hindustan Zinc to be there but not its CEO," he stated. His goal was clear: to showcase the reality of contemporary mining. "If I could complete 42 kilometres underground, it would show the world what modern mines are actually like," he explained.
Misra, who began his career in challenging Indian coal mines in Dhanbad back in 1990, is no stranger to underground environments. However, this marathon presented new challenges. The race required runners to complete 11 laps of 3.84 km each within a tunnel dug out at a staggering depth of 1,118.56 metres—deeper than the height of the Burj Khalifa. Each lap included a steady two-degree incline for nearly two kilometres, which tested his limits after the third lap.
Training in the Dark and Shifting Perceptions
Having never run a full marathon before, Misra trained between August and October in Udaipur and Delhi, occasionally simulating low-visibility conditions. Inside the mine, the reality was starkly different from surface races. "You can only see as far as your headlamp allows," he described, with no crowds or scenery for distraction, only tunnel walls and uneven gravel.
His effort, however, was about more than a personal milestone. Misra aimed to tackle the persistent negative imagery associated with mining in India, often shaped by old films and a lack of public exposure. He emphasized the technological advances in the sector. "Our underground mines have air-conditioning, digitised control rooms, Wi-Fi, and imported equipment. You can do a video town hall one kilometre below the surface. Very few people know this," he pointed out.
He believes changing this perception is vital for India's ambitions to boost production of metals like steel, aluminium, copper, and zinc for infrastructure and energy transition needs.
A Personal Victory and a Cultural Catalyst
During the six-hour-plus endeavour, Misra relied on strict pacing, hydration, and protein gels. He kept his full-distance attempt a secret from his family to avoid worrying them. His completion of the marathon is also a testament to a running culture he has fostered within Hindustan Zinc. In his six years as CEO, over 250 employees have taken up half-marathons, and three Vedanta group companies now host annual city runs.
The event, streamed globally and set to feature in a documentary, served as a powerful, unconventional platform. It highlighted international safety and technology benchmarks while offering a glimpse into the demanding yet advanced world of modern mining, all through the determined stride of an Indian CEO a kilometre beneath the earth's surface.
