To honour the unmatched courage and sacrifices of the Indian Armed Forces, ultra-marathon runner Sufiya Khan, who holds several world records in endurance running and high altitude marathons, is undertaking an arduous expedition from the country’s southern tip to its northernmost frontiers.Terming it as an extraordinary journey of grit, endurance and patriotism, the Army said the ‘Run for Dreams: Kanyakumari to Karakoram’ covers an incredible 5,000 km across 11 states in 88 days.With five Guinness World Records under her belt, this would be an attempt at a sixth record. The expedition was ceremonially flagged off by Headquarters Dakshin Bharat Area under the aegis of the Army’s Southern Command on May 12.Starting from Kanyakumari, the route will take her through, among other places, Puducherry, Chennai, Vijaywada, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar, Kargil, Leh, Galwan and finally culminate at Daulat Beg Oldie, the world’s highest airstrip located near the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram.Halts at key war memorials en route are also planned.”Every time I take on a high-altitude challenge, it’s my way of paying tribute to the Indian Armed Forces. What we call an adventure, they live every single day in the harshest conditions. We can run for passion. They stand there for the nation,” she was quoted in some media reports earlier this week.Belonging to Ajmer in Rajasthan, Sufiya is a well-known Indian ultra-marathon runner holding several Guinness World Records for extreme long-distance running.She worked for a decade as ground duty staff in the aviation sector and finding the job quite taxing took to running as a stress buster. In 2017, she switched to running full-time. What initially began as routine 3-km runs in the neighbourhood park became a passion.Sufiya has since completed numerous extreme challenges that include the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman to run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 2019, covering about 4,000 kms in 87 days, 2 hours and 17 minutes.In 2020, she set another Guinness record for being the fastest woman to cover the Golden Quadrilateral – the 6,000 kms highway network connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, in 110 days, 23 hours, and 24 minutes.She also holds the world record for being the first woman and the fastest woman to complete the 480 kms Manali to Leh ultra-marathon in 6 days, 12 hours and 6 minutes in 2021, which she later did in 98 hours and 27 minutes.Sufiya’s international feat includes the fastest run across Qatar, completing 200 kms south to north in approximately 30 hours and 31 minutes, which has also been certified by Guinness World Records.