Shankar Sundaresan
A friend in my apartment texted me – “Shankar, Am planning to run this edition of Chennai Marathon. What is the ideal timing for a new runner to finish?” Running bug had bit him! My immediate reply was “Finishing the Marathon is the ideal thing for a new runner!”
As arduous as it may sound, the task of covering 10 kms of Chennai roads on foot is an accomplishment by itself. In a city which houses millions of human beings, only around 10,000 people muster the courage to flock the Start point of the Marathon. But, we are a bunch of benchmarked beings who liked to compare our benchmate’s report card in school and continue to compare our colleague’s appraisal rating, just to know where we stand! It’s been a rat race always, but, remember, the Marathon is for human race.
Marathons are festivals all around the world. It’s a celebration of the human’s ability to train the minds and bodies to last the distance. Runners take great pride in conquering their limitations and the ultimate winners are the ones who managed to expand their horizons. Make no mistake, there are always Winners and the usage of the plural form isn’t incorrect. Marathon is a sport, alright; but everyone is a winner!
If one has never run 10 kms before, running the course makes him/her a winner; If one has managed to reduce his previous best timing, for the same distance, by a minute or more, he/she is a winner too; If one upgrades to a Half Marathon (21.1 kms) from a 10k or to a Full Marathon (42.2 kms) from a HM, he/she is a winner as well. That’s the opportunity offered by Skechers Performance Chennai Marathon where every runner is actually a winner!!
Expert Investment gurus believe ‘Time in the market is more important than timing the market’; it holds good for a marathoner too. Spending more time in training takes care of the timing; timing is only a byproduct and is one of the pleasures the process offers. Skechers Performance Chennai Marathon conducts Training Runs every Sunday starting October to enable new runners get a feel of the Marathon thereby enabling them to prepare physically and mentally. These Sunday Training Runs have a good participation from a variety of runners – Beginners to Ultra Marathoners. One can get valuable tips from the seasoned runners in technical as well as mental aspects and it is the best On-The-Job training one can hope for.
For more details & updates, please visit and like Chennai Runners page or Skechers Performance Chennai Marathon page on Facebook and upgrade your running skills. The Chennai Marathon awaits you on January 6th, 2019.