‘Compete with yourself, not others’

Smita Kawale

Lokmat News Network, Nashik

"Set the goal in your head, set the time frame and see how your will power takes you towards achieving your goal!" These are the inspiring words of a 50 year-old marathon runner Chinmay Deshpande. This runner’s grit is seen in the story of his journey towards becoming a runner!

A construction professional in his early fifties, Chinmay Deshpande says, he did not concentrate on any physical exercise till the age of 45 years. “But some years back, I suffered a severe ligament injury in my leg. I had been on a trek to Kalsubai where I injured my leg. Initially, I did not take it seriously and dragged it on for around two years. Once, when I had gone to Dr Sagar Kakatkar for my son, he checked my leg and said 'it is now or never'. The leg had to be immediately operated on and screws were then fitted in it,” narrates Chinmay.

“During the two months when I was recuperating after the surgery, the thought of initiating a proper running regime dawned on me. I realised that I had had enough of spending my life aimlessly and just working to earn money and other necessities. I needed to start running and exercising,” shared Chinmay.

Interestingly, Chinmay was making this decision in his mind when he was not even in a position to move his leg one bit. At that time, he happened to come in contact with Aniruddh Athani, the ace marathon runner from Nashik through his friend Yogesh Tatar.

“The beginning was very modest. Like when you conceptualise the construction of a bridge, it begins with preparing a design. Similarly, it took me four years to reach the stage where I could run 50 kms after such a major surgery. I managed to run a mere two km at my first attempt, which had seemed almost impossible for me. The joy of achieving something that had seemed near impossible was truly exhilarating," gushes Chinmay.

“Running is like meditation. It brings complete transformation, not just in our physical life but even our mindset. It helps us to get going instead of lamenting on what happened in the past. You need to embark on a new goal. Taking the next step forward undaunted, helped me in my business as well as in my personal life. I could overcome financial and work stress through this meditation of running,” Chinmay says with great conviction.