My key Learnings from participation in ULTRA Marathon 2022.

I have started my marathon journey since 2016 with capability of not even running 500 meters continuously.. I remember of mixing up with 10 km runners while I registered for my first 4 km distance and finally completed 10 km run unknowingly. It prompted me to realize my potential to run even more than 10Kms.

I joined training group called #striders –dedicated to marathon training. I was quite in- consistent in training, however could complete around 30 marathons ( 10, 21, 25 KMs). The maximum distance was only up to 25 KM , but always looking for registering & completing full marathon. Training was almost stopped (although virtually ON) during last 2 years -thanks to COVID.

Restarted the training from this year March and decided to go for 35KM before going for full Marathon -42KM. It was TATA ULTRA MARATHON -35 & 50 KM.. I registered for 35KM for first time. It was organized at lush green forest of Lonavala , Maharashtra –India ( 15 May 2022) with elevation of as high as 800 meters. My trainer rejected my participation in such tough ULTRA marathon as I was re starting training after 2 years. But I promised him to follow 2 months training plan religiously and finally could convince him for my participation.

Marathon was started in dark midnight and completed in the morning.. Every runner needs to have head torch as there were no lights in forest. As a runner you had to be on your own to find the way to complete the run.

I would like to narrate my key learnings starting from registering the event to completion of the event.

1)     Chase your Dreams: I had a dream to complete my 1st ULTRA marathon for last few years, but couldn’t register due to some other commitments.. But, this time was like  “ Ek bar commitment kar di to me khud ki bhi nahi sunta”( once committed I don’t even listen to myself”).  Once you decide to chase your dream, first thing should be to take immediate action- In this case marathon registration was done and tell your family and friends on social media about your dream. I also announced to my friends and family about participation in this marathon.  This will help you to put psychological pressure on you to pursue and chase your dream.

               I followed the same thing when I wrote my 1st book –B2B Sales Transformation 2.0. Master the Art of Customer Acquisition and Retention. I announced pre-launch of my book in May 2020 on social media and actual launch was done in September 2020. During pre-launch, more than 100 books were sold and now there was a pressure on me to complete the book as per the committed time line. During my book writing journey, there were many instances when I wanted to quit writing, but there was a pressure from those 100 sold books and readers to deliver my promise to my readers. 

2)     Law of attraction works well: When I registered for this marathon, I was always visualizing finish line of marathon everyday morning before getting out of bed. It is said that running marathon is more of mind game than physical game. So, you need to run your race  first in your mind then on your race track.  When you chase your dream, whole universe also supports you to fulfil your dream.

              Also, during my book writing journey, I used to  do meditation and visualize book launch day on daily basis, which really helped me complete by book launch on time. It is said that your thoughts become your actions and your actions become your results.

3)     Prepare, follow the plan and surrender to your mentor: There was a clear (day wise) marathon training plan of 2 months with instruction. E.g. every Monday 5-10 km run , Tuesday – core workout, Wednesday – 10-15 Km run, Thursday - strength training, Friday -10-15 KM hill run, Saturday –Rest Day and Sunday -15-30 KM run. I simply surrender to the plan and my trainers. On one of the Friday, I had to visit one customer at Pune by 10 AM and there was no possibility to change the day. As per the plan, I had to run 15 KM on hill, I got up @3.30 AM and started run @4.15 and finished 15KM and then proceeded for customer visit. It was really painful, but I had decided to follow the plan and always visualizing finish line of Marathon.. Every small steps which I run for 2 months have helped me to reach to finish line. Small but consistent efforts always wins over big inconsistent efforts. 

4)     You are an average of five persons with whom you spend most of your time – Jim Rohn.

When you decide to chase your dream, always be surrounded by likeminded/ passionate people.  I have joined striders group since I started running. Striders has recently completed 15 years of marathon training. We have group of 100 active runners in Thane and each one of us is pushing and motivating others to do better during our weekly runs, training and even on race track. Elite runners are always inspiration for others as armature runner like me take tips from them.

                Here, the aim is to support others to do better selflessly, instead of competing with each other . Every group member birthdays are celebrated with sweets and cakes. There are many other events like festivals celebrations, special achievement celebrations etc. Whenever one of the group member is in trouble, whole group stands by him and supports him well. . I give full credit of my marathon journey to our group and trainers.

      All in all, we as a group only talk about running, running and running… When is your next race ? ….What was your pace for recent marathon?....What is your target pace for next marathon ? I am planning to do sub 2 half marathon…… Did you register for Berlin?

When you are in company of such likeminded people, there is always a peer pressure to perform better and you can achieve your dream goals with support from others in the group. So, next time when to decide your dream goal, look for passionate people like you.

 5)     Personal Best (PB) :  This is very common word you will listen from marathon runners. Here, when you start the run, some will run faster, some will run slow. Nobody is competing the race except podium finishers. Every runner is trying to be better on his own Pace (no of kms completed per hour) , HR ( heart rate) compared to earlier race . We also need to follow similar Personal best in our professional and personal life instead of comparing / competing with our colleagues, friends, and relatives.     

6) Unleash your true potential : Most of the time, we don't know our full potential and we need to challenge ourselves to unleash our true potential. In our personal and professional life , we should accept challenges by our mentors, leaders or our parents as they know our potential better than us and put our best efforts to achieve better results.

 Would love to learn from your experiences, please share your thoughts.