By Sudhanshu Vats
Standing at the flag off point, I looked up to survey the sea of humanity surrounding me and what a sight it was. Age, color, nationality, language, background –all ‘labels’ of the human race were rendered meaningless as about half a lakh people prepared to run the 13th edition of the Mumbai Marathon. As I straightened and shared glances with my running mates, we knew the next few hours would both exciting and testing for us.
And then it started. I ran for the next 3 hours 59 minutes and 7 seconds to complete my 10th Mumbai marathon. I was tired yet satisfied with another Sub 4 hrs. performance. While the start of a marathon is filled with excitement and anticipation, the middle requires maintaining the momentum, and the last stretch, tests the limit of perseverance. Â As the clock ticked and the miles accumulated, I settled into my rhythm. A rhythm meticulously planned over hourly weekday runs and longer weekend ones. As I looked around at my fellow runners and the milieu standing on the sidelines cheering us on, I felt an immense sense of belonging. All around were an enthusiastic bunch of people running for their varied personal reasons, united in a common act.
Running, to my mind, is a wonderful urban exercise. It is location- and paraphernalia-agnostic – all you need is a pair of sneakers and you are ready for your routine anywhere in the world. A run exercises the human body in its entirety. And it is a fierce critique of its physical condition as well! Try running with an inconspicuous injury and you will immediately know your pain points. While any form of running teaches one the virtue of patience, focus and perseverance; running long distances requires a planned approach. Much of my business success comes from being able to put together a strategic long-term plan divided into focused short-term milestones – a mantra I picked up from my marathon planning.
“Haji Ali –  and the final Peddar road climb,†reminded the voice within, as I crossed the iconic 600 year old dargah. I looked at my running mates and was happy to see we were all going pretty well. Marathons have a way of bringing people together, instilling a sense of the collective over the individual.
No wonder corporate India has taken to marathons like fish to water. For today’s time-starved corporate executives, running provides one with the much needed ‘me time’ in this fast paced world. Running is a great leveler as well; and nowhere is this more evident than in a marathon. People from divergent walks of life run together, as one, while the city descends on the street to cheer them on in an amazing celebration of encouragement and solidarity. Isn’t that what today’s business leaders strive to do? Build organizations that transcend boundaries, strengthened by their employees’ will to collaborate and excel. And at an individual level completing a grueling marathon leads to a strong sense of achievement and fulfilment.
I used to do cross country in my Boarding school but the bug of marathon bit me as I went to cheer my friends in the first Mumbai Marathon. Over the course of time I have completed 8 Marathons and four Half-marathons. And what a run it has been. People talk about the physical benefits of running. Personally, I think it is the impact running has on your character and personality is profound. For me, that has been the most important differentiator.
In our professional environment, we are faced with new challenges every day and the key is to keep the spirit alive within ourselves. If we calm our minds and learn to ‘break’ our audacious goals into focused short-term milestones, not only will we reach our eventual goal but also enjoy the journey.
The beauty of a marathon is that between training for it, participating in it and finally celebrating a successful run you learn valuable lessons that prepare you for most of what life has to offer and learn to live it to the Fullest!
Sudhanshu Vats is Group CEO, Viacom18