The first Indian to finish the North Pole Marathon

Ram Gopal Kothari is a Kolkata entrepreneur and endurance runner who grew up in a two-room home in Burrabazar. On 13 July 2025 he became the first Indian to complete a full marathon at the Geographic North Pole, running on drifting Arctic sea ice. Our job was to make sure the country heard about it, and remembered the person behind it. We ran an organic campaign: no placement was paid for.

A sporting first can vanish in a day if it is reported only as a result. The story had to carry its context: where he started, what the race demanded, and why it mattered that an Indian had done it.

We built the story around three facts that could be verified: the date and place of the race, the conditions on the ice, and his journey from a two-room home in Burrabazar to running a business with five offices.

We led with the national first and the image of the tricolour at 90°N, and pitched it to English, Hindi and Bengali desks with ready, verified material. No placement was paid for.

When the Delhi Chief Minister felicitated him at her residence, we used it as a second, independent news peg rather than repeating the first story.

Every claim was supported with photographs, race details and quotes, so desks could verify and publish without delay.