London Marathon 2023

I completed the 2023 London Marathon three months ago today.

Now that I have had some time to reflect on it, running a marathon feels eerily similar to starting a business with analogies at every juncture: they are both passions, labours of love, and you have to be just a little crazy to think that you can do it!

11 years ago I started on a quest to lose weight. My lifestyle over the previous decade working in financial services resulted in me being grossly overweight and unfit at the age of 31. At that point, I never thought I’d run a marathon. We all have our original motivation, but these can often change dynamically.

The more I ran, the better I felt, so the more I ran. It became my thinking time, allowing me an opportunity to process my thoughts; today, I won’t make a major decision without going out for a run. Virtuous cycles are self-perpetuating, and can build positive momentum rapidly.

In 2017, I made a list of 100 things I wanted to do before I died. Somewhere on that list I wrote “Run a Marathon” - and then proceeded to quickly forget about it. Only now do I fully appreciate the power of being intentional & writing something down as the first step of it becoming reality.

A series of chance encounters & conversations over a three month period culminated in me committing to doing the marathon. First, towards the end of what was then a long run from me on a Sunday in November 2022, I bumped into Raheem Biviji , who proceeded to drag me out for a further 10km (after I had already done 7.5km). He made me run slow, and far… and the entire time kept telling me that “if you can run this far with me, you can run a marathon.” The seed was planted because of his encouragement. We often hear that things are meant to happen when they happen. But for them to happen, we have the make the time for serendipitous moments, observe intently when they occur, and have the courage to grasp them when we see them.

Second, at dinner in early 2023 with Paras Shah, CFA - one of my closest friends and an entrepreneur I profoundly respect - I fleetingly said “I’m 42 and if I want to run a 42km marathon, I should do it this year.” He literally took out his phone, sent someone in London a message, and said “I’ve got you a place, so stop talking about doing the marathon and start training!” We all need people on our side and on our teams who won’t take “No” for an answer.

With that much needed “encouragement”, I literally signed-up and had to figure it out. The age-old startup adage about jumping off the cliff and building the plane on the way down - well this was it in running terms! Just starting is the hardest step and we often get lost in procrastination; we all need cheerleaders!

A few days into my training while out on a run, I bumped into multi-marathon runner Avani Patel and mentioned I was running London and asked if she had any tips. She suggested I get a coach - not something I had ever even considered. As human beings we like to keep our cards close to our chest; I have been chided by those closest to me that I am far too open. However, I believe that there is power in asking for advice - especially from those that have been there before. And that cannot happen without being open & transparent. Getting a coach ended up being one of the key reasons for my success.

Three weeks into training, I ended up running a half marathon (21km) side-by-side with someone I had never met before. In my entire running life, I have been a solitary runner and never run a meaningful distance with anyone at my natural pace, yet that day, something was different - a stranger taking every stride lock, stock & barrel with me was both unsettling and comforting… so I embraced it. I asked Ushmi Shah the following day if she’d like to run the London Marathon, and 48 hours later she also signed up! I have found that having the right people on the journey beside me is critical; operating at the same pace is a recipe for success.

We trained together five times a week for 11 weeks, with a set time & place to meet every morning. In life we often think we can make a go of it alone, but in both my training and in running Spring Valley Coffee , I have learnt that having an accountability partner and someone other than myself to show-up for kept me going, even through the hardest times.

So, I had a coach who gave me a detailed plan, a partner, and an opportunity… all I had to do was execute. It was time to play the long game, to follow the plan and stay the course, not over-train… but also show up on the rainy days and get out there even when everything feels like it’s falling apart. I underestimated the value of having a plan - and sticking to it; it was critical to success. 

Along my training plan I suffered two minor injuries. And when things get really tough, we are forced to slow down or even come to a complete stop. Even though they didn’t feel it at the time, these were incredible opportunities to step back & regroup. 

During our last long training run of 34km, I developed a fever. I slowed down and even stopped, but persevered through. It was hard, bloody hard, and I didn’t think I would make it… but I did. Things will get hard before they get better, and that is where resilience comes into play. And, we can always do more than we think we can. Always.

While training, you never do a full marathon; instead, you invest in preparation, fuel, rest and being surrounded by people with more experience & knowledge than you, and others that keep you focused. Often, we don’t know what the future looks like, or even the end goal, but the power of trusting the process is real - something that I learnt as a long-standing member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization .

While running the marathon was definitely the goal, it was important not to forget to have fun along the way. Whether it was saying “good morning” to the people I saw every morning, dancing with the Afro Caribbean drummers during the London Marathon, or playing in traffic, it is important to have fun and enjoy the journey!

Running - like business - is not just about the end result. We all have a responsibility to do good as a normal part of our everyday lives. I was fortunate to have secured my marathon place through Farm Africa , and am grateful that I was able to raise money for them and support the incredible work they do with smallholder farmers across Africa.

In the end, we finished in 4:00:06 - six seconds shy of our goal of 4 hours. 6 seconds is neither here nor there, and serves as a stark reminder that when you shoot for the stars, you can get to the moon... and there's always room to do better.

#entrepreneurship #running #resilience #motivation #londonmarathon