Recently, I ran the Dehradun Marathon 2026 in Personal Best time of 4 hours 20 minutes. However, partway through the race, I realized my race plan had literally fallen apart. I still beat my Personal Best time by 11 minutes. Here are the four major life lessons that I learned:
1. There are no shortcuts to success.
During my training for earlier marathons, my peak weekly running mileage would range some where between early to mid 40s. This time around, my peak weekly mileage was 61 Kilometers, although, people who used to see me run in my college campus, used to think that I have lost my mind, but thats a discussion for another day. Elite marathon runners such as Eliud Kipchoge and George Grassly run 200Kms+ per week, attributing it to their insane marathon times.
2. Plan each tiny detail beforehand because no detail is unimportant.
When I was in school, before each exam, my mother used to tell me to make sure that I packed my stationery and admit card in the pencil box, because each detail matters and if you ignore it, you may have to pay a heavy price on the D-day. During this marathon, I had planned my race, such that I would fuel myself through nutritional gels, after every 40 minutes. Those who have ever tried consuming gels while running, know that they can be a key difference between having a fantastic run and a horrendous run. During my training long runs, I had practised consuming these gels but since I generally run laps, I would leave them at a specific location and pick them up as I passed. However, during race day, as I reached out to my pouch for picking up a running gel, I heard a gentle voice as if something had dropped on the road. Ignoring the sound, I consumed the gel and continued with my race. Sometime later, as I reached out for my second gel, I was in for a huge surprise. The sound I had heard earlier was all my remaining gels falling onto the road. They were supposed to fuel me for the rest of the run. And I still had 25 kilometers to go!
3. When faced with overwhelming obstacles, divide and conquer.
On finding that I had no running gels left with me, firstly I cursed my stupidity. However, once my emotions had settled, my engineering background came to my rescue. I broke the remaining 25 kilometers into five 5K runs. Thanks to the sugary drinks that the aid stations offered and with the support of my brother, I was able to finish the race with a PB.
4. It’s your duty to help others.
After realizing that I had no nutritional gels left with me, it felt pretty dark and for some time I had no idea how I was going to finish the rest of the race. However, my brother Appurv pulled me through the race by supplying me with electrolytes, Red Bull and chocolates. If it hadn’t been for him, I probably would not have been able to improve on my PB. Looking back, all of the success I have experienced in my life so far, has been because of people supporting me at the right moments. Since others have helped us reach this point in our lives, we have a moral responsibility to extend a helping hand to others too.