It is the ultimate test of grit and endurance. You can’t wake up one fine day and decide to run 42 km. And just conditioning your body is not enough, your mind has to be as tough and stubborn, if not more. The marathon, which traces its roots to ancient Greece, is the holy grail for runners, blood, sweat, tears and all.
To run a marathon, you have to work on your mind and body to not only survive but also perform under extreme conditions. It is a constant mind game—between want and need. It is for you to decide what you want and the need not be the same for every runner.
The coronavirus pandemic offered many a chance to train and run their first marathon virtually. Others used the time to reboot themselves—adjusting their pace and mileage—drawing from their previous runs.
We spoke to three runners to get a peek into what goes into making a marathon runner. Two of them, Rashi Shah and Aman Luthra, ran their first marathon virtually during the pandemic, while Raahil Modi built on his experience from his first marathon. They share with Moneycontrol the relief and the joy of stretching their limits and the journey in between.
From marathon to ultramarathon
Rashi Shah, a brand strategist, ran her first virtual marathon in London in October 2020. “For the first time ever, I got myself registered with a coach who would set up a very strategic training plan for me. I started my training during the lockdown, so I began running on the treadmill for three months and then slowly transitioned to road running when government restrictions permitted it,” says the 24-year-old Rashi.
Her training plan included a variation of easy runs, speed runs, hotspot runs and long runs. Every Sunday, she would increase the distance by 2 km all the way to 32km and in the final week before the race, she tapered down to get ready for the big day.
All she wanted was to enjoy the process and complete the 42-km distance without any hindrance. The timing wasn’t a key factor, as it was her first attempt.
“Envisioning that feeling of accomplishment at the end of my full marathon was something that kept me going over six months of vigorous training, which, of course, included a lot of days when I just didn’t want to run,” said Rashi.
How did it feel? “Overwhelmed, overjoyed and I guess my immediate thought was what more can I do? Can I go longer? I felt absolutely amazing throughout the race without any pains and nickels. It’s where my dreams of running ultra-distances started brewing,” she said.
Shah wants to run a few half marathons and one full this year in the physical space rather than the virtual space.
12 years in the making
Raahil Modi ran his first marathon on January 15, 2017, in Mumbai. The 36-year-old package solution consultant completed it in 3 hours 53 minutes 5 seconds.
Registering for your first marathon and running it may seem easy but finishing it strong is not, he says. If you want to run a marathon, you have to train for it. You cannot just decide to run a marathon and run it in sub-four hours.
“I have been participating in the Mumbai Marathon since 2004 and had been running a half marathon ever since. I had this weird goal to attempt my first marathon only after I clocked a sub 1:50 for my half marathon in 2016. That was after running for almost eight half marathons in 12 years. The difference between the race in 2016 and all those years from 2004 was the training,” said Modi.
His yearly mileage was less than 30-40 km and it was only during the race, where he used to cover the maximum distance.
“Running a Mumbai Marathon was a ritual but then I realised that I am spending too much time in the gym with weight training. I was strong and fit and yet not seeing major improvement in my running speed and endurance. After doing some analysis and speed drills, I came up with a plan to improve my overall running performance. You can say that's when I got into training for a race as I always believed that progression beats perfection.”
The idea behind marathon training is to progressively beat up your muscles, joints and ligaments. So he trained for 16 weeks before the race, which included running five times a week at a variety of speed intervals— fartleks, tempos and long runs so that the body didn’t go in shock on the race day.
Fartleks, a Swedish term that means speed play, involves alternating between a fast pace and slow jog. In contrast, tempo running is about sticking to one pace.
The time spent running outdoors, as you would on a race day, is very important. A breakthrough in the training leads to a breakthrough in the race. Modi achieved his goal by finishing his first marathon in a good strong four hours.
He hasn’t been running much during the pandemic and focused mostly on weights and trained for a leaner muscular body. He is looking forward to the Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2021.
The most brutal distance
Aman Luthra, 28, an account manager at Deloitte India, ran his first marathon on February 13, 2021. He was off training from March till August due to the lockdown and resumed in September. His regimen includes a combination of speed runs, hill training and long runs to focus on speed, strength and endurance.
“Running a full marathon is a pure test of physical and mental grit. This was by far the most brutal distance I have covered,” Luthra says. It took him almost four years to make the shift from finishing 10km to running a full marathon.
“The first 37 km were smooth with an average pace of 5 mins 30 seconds but the last 4-5 km turned out to be brutal as I was experiencing excruciating pain in my right knee. I had to walk the last 4 km and still clocked my first ever marathon in 4 hours 37 minutes,” says Luthra.
He learnt a lot about his body and mind. “I have come a long way and achieved a sense of pride and satisfaction despite projecting a sub-4 timing.”
Luthra plans to run the Ladakh Marathon in September 2021.
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