Academic excellence in the London Marathon

Oxford Professor runs London Marathon for Hindu Studies

Professor Gavin (Flash) Flood, the Academic Director of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, is taking time out and joining over 35,000 runners in taking to the streets of London for one of the world's most prestigious and exciting sporting events. He will be the first Oxford Professor to do so.

Thanks to the IK Foundation securing his place – a marathon effort in its own right – Professor Flood will run the London Marathon with the aim of raising funds and awareness for the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

A seasoned academic, Prof Flood hopes to bring his infectious enthusiasm for the subject to the wider community by this very personal sacrifice. Says he, "We intend to develop OCHS as a source of intelligent commentary on current questions, within an ethos of critical, creative, and engaged dialogue. The OCHS can be a resource for scholars from Hindu communities to critically examine and engage with their own tradition."

The Centre's Director, Shaunaka Rishi Das, who has built the Centre from an idea over dinner into a Recognised Independent Centre of Oxford University,  tells us: "With educational centres like this, Indian cultures and philosophies will make themselves felt in subtle ways, as India’s cultural impact grows."

Please support the Centre for Hindu Studies and sponsor Professor Flood's valiant effort.

Prof. Gavin Flood

OCHS Academic Director, Prof. Flood is a renowned lecturer and writer on Hinduism having having written a number of core texts in the field including An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge University Press).
Prof. Flood profile page

The IK Foundation

Prof. Flood's participation in the Marathon is made possible by the IK Foundation – preserving and perpetuating the memory of I. K. Patel, a respected leader of the UK Indian community, by supporting humanitarian and educational projects.
www.ikfoundation.org.uk

The London Marathon

As well as being one of the world’s five great marathons, the London Marathon is the largest fund-raising event in the world with more than £40 million being raised for charity each year.
www.london-marathon.co.uk

About the OCHS

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, a Recognised Independent Centre of Oxford University, was founded in 1998 with generous support from the Hindu community in Britain. The OCHS aims to be a bridge between the Hindu cultures and academia, press, business and government. It is an academy for the study of Hindu culture, society, philosophies, and languages, in all periods and in all parts of the world.