Posted by “I didn’t start running because somebody asked me to become a runner. Just like I didn’t become a novelist because someone asked me to. One day, out of the blue, I wanted to write a novel. And one day, out of the blue, I started to run — simply because I wanted to. I’ve always done whatever I felt like doing in life. People may try to stop me, and convince me I’m wrong, but I won’t change.”
From ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ by Haruki Murakami
What is it that motivates an individual to wake up at the ungodly hour of 4 AM in the morning and be it rains or the biting winter cold, put on the running shoes and go for a practice run?
The answer is ‘Training for the Marathon’!
At Origin, we firmly believe in allowing our colleagues to follow their passion to allow them to evolve and work with focus when they walk in to work. We have an eclectic mix of talented musicians, dancers, photographers, trekkers, aspiring master chefs, and sports-stars within the company. In addition to these stars, we have a dedicated team of long distance runners who make it a point to compete in regional marathons.
These are some of the stats from the recently conducted Wipro Chennai Marathon in Chennai.
42 K – Finishers:
- Shan
- Douglas
21K – Finishers:
- Dhanasekaran
- Sivaramakrishnan
- Hemnath
- Dhilipan
- Eban
- Daniel
- Jenson
10K – Finishers:
- Rajkumar
- Mohan
- Rajagopalan
Do you know the other important statistic; all these marathon runners reported for duty the next day without any complaint. This demonstrates two things – their peak fitness levels and their passion towards their day-to-day work.
You may wonder why there are no names of women athletes. Well we do believe in the empowerment of women and gender equality. One of our colleagues – Shraddha is training hard for a triathlon event that’s coming up and trust us it is a grueling regimen!
“An informal chat with Doug and Shan gave me an insight into the rigorous training needed to prepare for the Triathlon event. While, I have been running for a while with my friends from team Vibrant Velachery, an enthusiastic group of runners, the chat with Doug and Shan ignited a spark within me and I purchased a hybrid bike, recommenced my swim training after 12 long years and started practicing in right earnest for the event. The event brought out the best in me and all the hard work and training paid off as I completed the triathlon successfully”.
Doug who successfully completed the full marathon shares his thoughts.
“I was an athlete in college participating in a variety of sports-events. Once corporate life began the time spent on physical fitness decreased. I made a conscious decision to go for short runs every morning. I realized that I found myself refreshed and began to slowly increase the running distance and also focused on improving my strength and stamina. The key is to find a regimen that suits your body and to stick to it. Training for marathons has allowed me to transform into a fitter version of myself.”
Shan:
“I used to hate running as a school kid and never participated in any sports events. I used to play cricket in college but no other sports. Considering the sedentary life style forced upon us by the IT profession I started to swim and go to the gym to counter the negative effects. I later moved to running as it was easy to do with minimal training gear and preparation. All you need is a road and a pair of comfortable shoes to get started. Running marathons not only strengthens your body but it helps to shape your mind to a great extent. By running a full marathon you have already learnt how to push your own boundaries. This learning can be applied to other aspects of life as well.”
Dhanasekaran reflects – “Don’t give up, you can do it” These are the things which I have learned from my experience and also running a marathon is an amazing, challenging and crazy experience!”
Dhilipan says – “Initially, it seemed like a huge challenge. But after completing 21K, I feel that anything is possible with hard work. This event increased my self-confidence and I am eagerly waiting for the next event.”
Jenson keeps it simple – “Awesome Experience. Delighted, excited and waiting for the next event.”
Marathons – Inculcating Discipline and Improving Work Efficiency
A lot of companies are encouraging their employees to take up running marathons. One need not run a full-length 42km marathon. A lot of people are training for smaller distances and practice running to maintain their fitness instead of competing. Some of the benefits of training for a marathon are:
- Improves physical fitness and reduces chances of lifestyle related diseases.
- Allows employees to work together as a group when training for marathons and going on practice runs.
- Builds Teams ─ Every organization works well when it pulls its weight together as one big team, training together for marathons is a great team-building exercise.
- Boosts work efficiency.
- Reinforces an element of discipline and also brings in valuable strategy lessons.
These are times when we see a lot of stress-related medical complaints among employees in the IT industry. It is indeed heartening to know of colleagues who are focused and passionate about fitness and participating in marathons. Running is not the only way to keep fit or a solution to keep depression or stress away. Everyone needs to find some hobby that can be nurtured and made into a passion that will help one unwind and de-stress. It can be music, photography, writing, travelling or meditation. The key is to ensure that you dedicate some time every day to follow your passion.
Do share your thoughts on what you are passionate about in the ‘Comments’ section.