These words more or less summed up what I felt once I crossed the finishing line during the recently concluded Mumbai Marathon 2012. I am full of admiration for those who run the marathon year after year. It is always a pleasure to see so many people unite to run together, irrespective of whether they win or not.

It looks like the entire city came together to showcase the latent energy beneath and it turned out to be an awe-inspiring spectacle. Never will you see 38,000 Mumbaikars at one starting point rushing forward together with such intensity and in the process energizing everyone around.

My tryst with this event began last year when I participated in the Half-Marathon with a finishing timing of 3.5 hours. Not too impressive, I admit, but last year I ran for the experience – and enjoyed every moment! This year, I was determined to do better and I did practice for the past 2-3 months in great earnest – well almost, if it were not for my hamstring injury, which knocked off quite a few practice sessions. It was worth it at the end; I finished the race with a better timing of 2:54:34!

This race left me physically exhausted with some of my joints crying out for attention! I realize that this pain is temporary but the pride of completing the course is forever.

For me, running a marathon is similar to meditation where you shut out the outside world to focus on one specific goal or challenge with proper breathing techniques.

I was helped by the diet schedule I followed that was prescribed by my nutritionist Anjum Shaikh, who has a blog of her own (weightlossmantra).

A sea of humanity

Thousands of runners – approximately 38,400 in comparison to 22,000 at the 2004 inaugural event – joined together to put their bodies to the test at this event. I could see a lot of smiles and frowns as people of all ages set their hearts out on one target – the finishing line!

I met a lot of colorful characters during the race, including a 65-year old man from Surat who came brightly dressed in colorful attire! Celebrities too made their presence felt with their coterie of supporters.

It was very heart-warming to see the mentally challenged and the handicapped taking part in the event flanked by their loved ones. The smiles I saw on their faces will remain with me for a lifetime.

Mumbai Marathon 2012 – making a difference in the lives of Mumbaikars

I believe that the Mumbai Marathon is the right aphrodisiac for a busy city that seldom stops to admire the beautiful things in life. I was expecting more people to turn up to witness the event but Mumbai’s unusually chilly mornings kept them away. Nevertheless, I am proud that thousands jumped at the opportunity to associate themselves with charity and to run for a cause.

I joined my colleagues at Edelweiss to make our presence felt at the event. We were a competent team of 40 runners that were egged all the way even before we wore our running shoes!

I would like to end by highlighting two specific instances which will highlight what the Mumbai Marathon does to the city of Mumbai. At a time when most people preferred to stay indoors, I saw a small child of around 4, completely wrapped in woolens by his mother, standing on the pavement with her. He had a board saying “There is RELISPRAY here.” I broke into a smile as I ran past the child and his mother – Mumbai’s “big heartedness” starts very early in life indeed!

On the other hand, while running, I saw a few foreign nationals sprint past. I overheard one of them saying “Amazing bloody city – never seen so many people run like crazy at one time!” I gave them a thumbs up as I ran across and they smiled back. What a feeling it is to have foreigners saluting the spirit of Mumbai!

I am already charged up for next year’s event. However, the next event to follow is the Mumbai Cyclothon in early February – can’t wait to get out on the sea link again!

Experience shared by my team members:

Ranjan Das, Managing Director of SAP India, died of a heart attack recently, at the young age of 42. His friends and family say that he was an unlikely candidate for heart problems, as he exercised regularly and had a regimented diet. At almost the same time, Ravi Mohan, Executive Director with Reliance Industries (RIL) died of a heart attack at 52 years while on a walk along Marine Drive. Touted by Mukesh Ambani as “one of the finest financial and risk management minds in the world,” he was a leader with an inspirational career.

Both these men were trailblazers professionally, who met success early in their lives. Perhaps their careers required longer hours and greater levels of stress than those in mid-level management, simply because they were more driven individuals. Notwithstanding their high success rates and consequent vigilance against failure which could have been the cause of their early demise, the stress levels in these two sectors have also been particularly high in the last 18 months. Since the markets crashed in late 2008, these two very critical industries have been placed under enormous strain. The recoil reaction, after the easy promotions and bonuses for five years prior, has been felt by professionals in this field.

The long hours and frequent travel required by these industries may lead professionals to become more susceptible to stress and other health related problems. There could be several instances below the radar of people with severe health issues which have gone unnoticed – or even worse, waiting to happen. As a finance professional myself, I see this vulnerability to high levels of stress daily, and this is an area of concern to me. As such, to stay sharp enough physically and to make sure that my mental faculties are geared to take up any stress, I am running the 6 km Dream Run in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2010 on the 17th of January. To read more about the marathon and to support my cause, please click here.

While I am not a health professional, I would like to add my two bits for my readers. If you are in either of these professions or in any high-stress job, there are some ground rules that you can live by to ensure a well-balanced life.

• Remember to always have health checkups, eat healthy and live a regular disciplined lifestyle. Nonetheless, the stresses of your profession can overwhelm you with long working hours where one is mostly stationary, as well as frequent high-pressure situations which require fast turnaround times. In such a job, stress is part of the parcel and cannot be wholly avoided. Yet one must learn to switch on and off, and observe your work from a detached and logical perspective. This will not only help you preserve your health, but also help you keep work stress limited to the office.
• Another factor to consider is the Happiness Quotient (HQ) at your workplace. One might scoff at such a feel-good statement, but it is a proven fact that organizations with high HQ attract and retain the brightest and more committed professionals, and thereby have higher productivity. As a manager or team member in any company, it is imperative to organize activities for the team to relieve stress and build a community of owners. Activities might include some sports activity (certainly not a run to the nearest bar!), an office quiz, a movie outing or a drawing competition. The focus in organizations should move from IQ (Intellectual Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient) to HQ (Happiness Quotient), which is an ideal balance of the two.
• Finally, I would like to leave you with a word of caution, especially for those of us in Mumbai and in other cities who are daily participating in the rush of the throng. More and more, we seem to be falling into the western mindset of leading individualized lives; both these men unfortunately collapsed when they were out alone. One of the advantages that our forefathers and parents have enjoyed is the pleasure of more communal lives, which helped guard them from mishaps as well. An example of the power of communal gatherings that is still evident in Mumbai is the laughter club. These groups consisting of people from all walks of life meet at dawn and dusk and enjoy the health benefits of laughter. There are few better stress busters than relaxing with a friend while going for a walk or taking a group yoga class. This is soothing to one’s nerves and will help take your mind off work.

India Inc. will certainly miss these professionals, but we can learn some key lessons from their deaths as we have from their lives. We can ensure that we work in a well-balanced environment with adequate breaks, spend time with family and friends, and maintain a good health regime so we can work longer, harder and better as we aspire to greater heights.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.