Four athletes get candid about their fitness journey

In his 2007 memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, novelist Haruki Murakami, an ardent long-distance runner, refers to it as a metaphor for both writing and life. “Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that,” writes the best-selling novelist.

For most running evangelists, there is an ah-ha moment, when running becomes such an intrinsic part of existence, that they cannot think of one before it. And there were many moments like this one shared at a running event in Lavasa earlier this month. Here, some of their stories.

“Running is being with yourself”

Saiyami Kher has always been sporty. “ I used to play for Maharashtra,” says the actor, adding that running was a basic part of all the sports she played: “I played 11 in Xavier’s,” she grins. Then life happened and she could no longer find the time and the people to play a sport with. So she started running. “You just need a pair of shoes,” says the Mumbai-based Kher.

She began training for her first full marathon two years ago, while shooting for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya in 2016. “I was running in Ladakh,” recalls Kher, who trained herself in three months using a plan culled from the internet. “You don’t need a gym or a coach. There are some wonderful apps: I turned to them every time I felt I was lacking motivation.”

Finishing her first full marathon was the proudest moment of her life, says Kher, who has gone on to run countless races post that, “Many 10-km and half marathons, even a duathlon in Lavasa last year. I am addicted to races,” says Kher, who also loves the me-time she gets when she runs.

“Running is breathing”

She was probably the fastest athlete at the recent run at Lavasa, leaving the rest of us far behind on a steep, leaf-strewn trail. “I have been a sprinter all my life,” says Billimoria, who started running way back in school, where she constantly won a slew of races. “When I was 13, my coach, who had initially come as a chief guest, told me I should give running a serious shot. That is where it started,” she laughs.

Distance running started two years ago, she says. “I was very resistant to getting into any sort of running that was beyond 1 km at first,” she says, adding that her entire approach to training changed after that. “By the end of that year, I was running 10-ks,” says the captain of Adidas Runners, Mumbai, who cross-trains with numerous other activities including Pilates, yoga and weights.

Another thing that changed when she started training seriously was her approach towards nutrition. “I used to eat a lot of rubbish because I didn’t know any better,” she says candidly, pointing out that food is an important factor for strength, recovery and how to run better. “Now, I eat well and eat right. When you learn to lead, you begin taking charge of your life.”

“Running is about being my most original self”

Nivedita Samanta was always active as a child: “I came from a big joint family.” But she started running formally in Class VIII, at boarding school in Mussoorie. “Everyone had to pick a sport and I chose running,” she says.

She went to college in the US, where she ran regularly, “just to get away from studies, free my mind, let everything flow out,” says the Delhi-based athlete, who went on to work for Ernst & Young.

Then she got laid off and had to return to India. It was difficult but, “I knew I didn’t want an accountant’s job any more,” says Samanta, who went on to work for a British charity.

She continued running all through it, going on to run her first race in 2010. In 2016, she decided to make the sport she loved her profession too. “I went on to get a coaching certificate and became a running coach,” says Samanta, the founder of FitRabbits, an online portal that focuses on fitness, nutrition and running, among other things.

“Running proves that the human body can do anything”

Shivangi Bhatnagar first tried running when she began her weight-loss journey about three years ago. “I was extremely unfit and wanted to be healthier,” says the Pune-based fitness coach and trainer. She hated it, she says, and turned to weight-training instead, losing over 20 kilos in the process. “I worked out like that for 10 months,” she says.

Then Adidas got in touch with her, gifted her a pair of shoes and invited her to a running event. “So I went ahead and did it,” says Bhatnagar, who credits the brand with having started her running journey.

Running changed the way she looked at training, she says. “It taught me balance and made me realise that I didn’t have to be only a strength or only an endurance athlete,” she says. More importantly, it helped her be more disciplined and a better person, she says. “I still run every morning and weight-train six times a week without fail. Motivation comes and goes, habit is what actually gets you there,” she says.

The writer was at the event on the invitation of Adidas India