19-year-old boy's 10-km midnight run goes viral; here's why

A heart-warming video of a 19-year-old young boy has gone viral with over 4 million views on social media. In the video captured by filmmaker Vinod Kapri, the boy can be seen running along the road. When Kapri offered him a lift, he refused. The boy, Pradeep Mehra, said that he runs from Noida's Sector 16 to Barola every night -- a distance of 10 km. 

The video has garnered 4 million views and 53.1k retweets so far.

When Uttarakhand's Pradeep Mehra, who works at Mcdonald's was offered to be dropped home by Kapri, he politely refused because he preferred to jog home instead. "I always run on my way back home. I work in McDonalds, Sector 16. I run back home at night because otherwise I don't get time to run otherwise." Mehra said that he needs to jog "to join the army."

"In the mornings, I'm not able to wake up and run, as I have to go to work by 8 am and cook food," the youth from Uttarakhand's Almora tells Kapri.

"This is PURE GOLD. Last night at 12 o'clock on the road of Noida, I saw this boy running very fast with a bag on his shoulder. I thought he would be in some trouble and I should offer him a lift. However, he declined my repeated offers. You will fall in love with this child if you listen to the reason," Kapri wrote on Twitter, sharing the video.

Vinod Kapri found Pradeep when he was driving past the boy running on the sidewalk. Kapri offered him a lift to his destination but he denied the offer despite being soaked in sweat.

Mehra runs a 10-km stretch daily, from his workplace in Noida's Sector 16 to his home in Barola, where he stays with his brother. His mother is unwell and is currently hospitalised.

In the playful conversation, Kapri tells Mehra that his clip may go viral. "Who will recognise me?" the boy said. "If it goes viral, it's okay. I'm not doing anything wrong," he adds.