About # Dr. Mangalore Vittal Kamath Dental surgeon. Hospital builder. 72 years old, and 135,000 km into a walk I started on a New Year’s morning in 2008. ### I started because I was embarrassed For thirty-eight years I ran a multi-speciality hospital in Haveri, a small town in northern Karnataka. Patients came through my doors, farmers among them, with blood sugar and blood pressure readings that frightened me, and I found myself giving all of them the same advice: *move more*. I realised the main reason was lack of exercise. As doctors, we must practise what we preach. That thought made me start walking. On 1 January 2008 I walked five kilometres. Two months later, ten. Six months later, fifteen. It settled at twenty-four kilometres a day and it has not moved since — not for weather, not for travel, not for work. ### The job that had to go The routine costs five and a half hours a day. When it stopped fitting around senior posts as Principal and Medical Superintendent at private medical institutions, I resigned them. I had to choose between my walks and a lucrative job, and I happily quit my job. I kept walking through my mother’s final illness, caring for her without missing a day. I have since moved to Bengaluru, where I teach at a private dental college and cover my 24 km inside my apartment complex — a route I know down to the metre. ### Eighty countries, one routine I have travelled to more than eighty countries and completed the day’s walk in every one of them. High-altitude mornings at Pangong Lake in Ladakh. Eastern European winters. Seattle in April, where the thermometer read between zero and five degrees when I set out. -  Hungary -  Australia -  Croatia [More from abroad in the gallery](https://vittalkamath.com/gallery#abroad) Remember, your mind is way stronger than your body. ### What I eat, and what I do not take Millets, green vegetables, dal, fresh salads, protein. A shot of garlic, turmeric, ginger and curry leaves after the pre-dawn walk. Water through the day, and a rule I repeat to anyone who will listen: “One must eat only about eighty per cent of what the body demands.” My vital signs sit within normal limits. I have not caught a cold in more than fifteen years and have not needed a tablet for any ailment in that time. ### Before the walk, the Gita I wake at 2:45 am in Brahma Muhurta, the hour before dawn, and spend it chanting verses from the Bhagavad Gita — the whole scripture, from memory — and practising acupressure before I put my shoes on. The walk is a mental exercise as much as a physical one. In April 2026 I stood in front of 1,500 people in Seattle and told them, in plain language, how to start.  At a glance 72 years old Bengaluru, India. Teaching at a private dental college. Every day since 2008 24 km · 33,000 steps Across four walks, 330 minutes, starting at 3:30 am. Speed stair climbs 650 steps at Shravanabelagola in 7 min 437 steps at Rockfort, Tiruchirappalli in 5 min 300 steps at Muktinath, Nepal in 4 min 272 steps at Batu Caves, Malaysia in 6 min Tiger’s Nest Monastery trek, Bhutan Also The Bhagavad Gita, from memory. Daily yoga and pranayama. Stairs, as training. Talks to audiences on health and discipline. The long version ## A life, in order. 1969 S.S.L.C. rank holder — Among the top of my year in Karnataka. School 1976 Graduated from K.M.C., Manipal — Qualified as a dental surgeon. Manipal 38 years Built and ran a multi-speciality hospital — Haveri, northern Karnataka. Decades of small-town practice. Haveri 2008 1 January — the first five kilometres — A New Year’s resolution that never lapsed. 5 km/day 2008–09 Built up to the full distance — 10 km within two months, 15 km by six, then 24 km. 24 km/day Since Records on temple steps, and 80+ countries — Shravanabelagola, Rockfort, Muktinath, Batu Caves, Tiger’s Nest. Worldwide Recently Moved to Bengaluru to teach — Joined the faculty of a private dental college. Bengaluru Apr 2026 Spoke to 1,500 people in Seattle — On starting small, staying consistent, and eating 80%. Seattle, USA Sep 2026 Health talks at three Oxford colleges — “Healthy living in a hyperconnected world” and “Rediscover yourself”, at The Oxford Dental College, the Oxford College of Nursing Sciences and The Oxford College of Engineering. Bengaluru > “I want to stay fit until I die. I don’t want to be a burden on my children.” [Work with me](https://vittalkamath.com/contact) [Read the coverage](https://vittalkamath.com/media)