Yesterday was not just another Sunday for a few Suyatians. For six of them, it was an epic day where they faced a very different challenge for the first time in their lives.
Running a half marathon..!
Maiden Kochi international half marathon..!
Six techies from Suyati teamed up to run the half-marathon. For us, the marathon was not just an opportunity to rub shoulders with the top athletes in the world, but a platform to prove the real sportsman spirit of techies.
(Bisileesh,Subin Raj,Mansoor,Arun Menon,Arun Chandran and Arun Antony @Suyati)
I remember the reaction from a friend of mine, who is a mechanical engineer when I told him we are participating in half marathon. He went: “Dude, this is not like pressing your fingers on the keyboard..!”
He was absolutely right! Running a half marathon is completely different from writing code. But if we could write code for killer apps and awesome websites, we can run a marathon too..!!
We were not ready to give up! We started training for the marathon from the very next day after we did the registration. The training was for approximately 1 month. We kind of followed an iterative and incremental training approach (Oh yeah! We are addicted to SCRUM!)
And the big day finally came – December 29, 2013! We were all prepared! New running shoes, shorts and t-shirts! The 21-km race started at 6.30 am. When we started running, the only thought in our mind was that a marathon isn’t about speed. It is about finishing the race. We were all determined to finish 21 kms. There were moments when pain holds us back. But the cheering from the crowd, the undeniable courage of 116 year old Dharam Pal Singh, the fearlessness of handicapped co-runners – everything kept us going.
And yes, we finished the 21 kms race with a big smile in our faces. Look at the snap carefully, the medal that we are holding isn’t just another medal, it’s an icon of our sportsman spirit. And the smile in our faces, it isn’t just a smile; it’s the smile of victory..!
(Subin Raj, Arun Chandran,Bisileesh and Mansoor @Suyati)
1 comment
Completing a half-marathon is a dream come true for many – and the six of you have achieved it with minimum pain, fuss and training. The six of you are an inspiration for the rest of us at Suyati (and for your friends and family).
Please know that you have not simply completed a run, you have created a lifetime habit of health, discipline and success.
Thanks again for your inspiration,