My love for running started in 2018 and within a couple of months of running consistently and strength training, I could go from 0 to 21.097 km (half marathon). The next step was obviously a full marathon (42.195 Km) but it took me some time to be mentally and physically ready. I did one practice 30K run and participated in a 35K hill marathon run to assess my capabilities and realized that I would need more planning and training.

One of the major parts of marathon training is that you should achieve a peak of 40-50 km mileage per week and plan hydration & and nutrition so that your legs can endure 42Kms in one stretch to give your personal best performance. I embarked on my training journey in 2020, but unfortunately, I was halted by a persistent case of plantar fasciitis. I tried various shoes and insoles, but it did not help much. After contemplating, I geared myself mentally to do it in 2023 and made my own training plan to reduce painful mornings due to plantar fasciitis. On 22nd October ‘23, finally I ran my first Marathon and with that, I became part of an estimated 1% of the global population, who have completed a full marathon. My target was to complete it within 5 hours by running a pace of 7’07/km but I finished the same in 05:09:44 hours (missed the target by ~ 3%).

I must say that Marathon challenged me mentally and physically the most and I think that was my ‘Why’ to challenge my determination, discipline, and endurance.

Stages of Marathon

0 -10 K – Nice and Easy. You try to find your rhythm.

10 – 20K – You feel good, but you know that there is a long way to go.

20 – 30K – You feel happy to be in your twenties, but the fatigue starts. Maybe you would contemplate reaching the finish line.

30 – 40 K – It feels like the longest 10K and from 36 -40K, every step becomes the longest step that you have taken. In my case, I started getting cramps around 36-37 Km, so I had to adjust my pacing plan to finish the final kilometers. Support from a cheering crowd, encouraging pacer, and fellow runner’s support apart from internal motivation helps a lot at this stage.

Balance is just the final stretch, and you know in your mind that you have done it. So, it’s just about crossing the finish line.

As a lifelong learner, these are my ‘top 5’ businesses parallel that I re-learned in the process: –

1. Setting Long-term and short-term goals: Setting clear goals, setting the right priorities, allocating resources, and adapting to changing conditions is important to achieve long-term success. While long-term goals are required to give strategic direction, short-term goals are important to measure the success and adopt, if required. Short-term goals offer a means to gauge success, foster consistency, and yield incremental results.

• Pace and Balance: – Finding the right pace and balance is the key. Anticipating great results without proper planning or not challenging oneself adequately can be both taxing and unproductive.

• Endurance and Resilience: – Both must endure physical and mental challenges over an extended period. There will be unfavorable situations like stress, loss of focus, market fluctuations, competition, etc. but one should persevere through tough times.

• Team Efforts: – While a Marathon may look like individual support, you need people supporting, motivating, and challenging you. Being part of a running community really helps. Similarly, in business, a supportive work culture and cohesive teams are essential for navigating challenging times.

• Celebrating Milestones: – It is very important to recognize and celebrate important (however small it can be) to keep up the morale and motivation. As they say ‘the journey is always more fascinating than the results.

Running a marathon reinforced the significance of long-term thinking, endurance, resilience, planning, and the ability to maintain a consistent pace on the path to success. Achieving business goals similarly requires unwavering dedication, commitment, and the capability to overcome challenges encountered on the journey to the finish line.