Those on wildlife safaris learn beforehand about the Big 5 game animals—the rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant and Cape buffalo. For Shivaji Park local Milind Soman, his running safari begins on August 15, Independence Day. He will undertake the journey with his own Big 3 ideals, which are peace, harmony and unity.

Soman, Mumbai’s running machine known for his long-distance achievements, will start from his home ground at Shivaji Park, and traverse a distance of 420 km to Kevadiya Colony, facing the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat, finishing at the Statue Of Unity, the colossal statue of Vallabhbhai Patel. Soman’s run will stretch over eight days, where he will average a little over 50 km a day, to complete the distance. His every stride will speak about unity, “as it is a unified India that we can take ahead to a space where we want to be in the world.” He held a pre-event virtual briefing on Thursday morning.

The model-actor-athlete who belies his 56 years with his eye-popping fitness level, said the core of his life is, “simplicity.” Soman explained, “I am a big believer in simplicity. That is my underlying philosophy. So many people ask me why I run, expecting some profound reply. I say simply because I enjoy it. It makes me happy.”

Soman said he started running roughly two decades ago, “and when I started, I used to see few runners. Today, I see huge numbers just below my building, pounding Shivaji Park and the road beyond. This is an uplifting, welcome change. Running by definition is contrary, as an exercise it is special, but you do not need any special infrastructure, venue, equipment to start running. It is natural and simply anybody can start running. Therein lies its uniqueness.”

Soman made a case for running being a big mental and physical health booster, adding, “if you do not have your health, you cannot enjoy your life in any way.” Soman has run from Delhi to Mumbai earlier, and said, “when you are running these distances, there is a big chance that people pay greater attention to the cause you are espousing or the message you are disseminating.”

For Soman, consistency is key to maintaining a level of fitness, “one has to be regular. Today, I exercise up to 20 minutes a day, I never skip that. I am in the midst of shooting for a film but I have taken a break of eight days for this run. I can maintain this level only because of my regular running which then adds up to significant mileage overall.” Miles and the message will culminate at the statue, where Soman will pay tribute at the end of his journey, documenting his running milestones on social media, all through.

Principal sponsor Union Bank of India’s Venkatesh M wished Soman, “a 100 years more of running,” as he added how they were filled with pride to be associated with the feat. Soman will begin in his trademark barefoot style at 6 am, on Sunday, using his feet for the feat and putting sole and soul, into India’s I-Day celebrations.