YouJustRun Podcast

Episode Ten: Health, Fitness and Well-being Mantras from Dr. Arun Agrawal

Dr. Arun Agrawal is a Cancer Surgeon & Oncologist, President of Academy of Indore Marathoners and Convener of the Adventure Club of Indore. He is a fitness enthusiast and has inspired countless others towards a fit and healthy lifestyle. He has run numerous marathons, half marathons and participated in duathlons and triathlons alike.  It was his vision and passion that put Indore on the international marathon scene five years. Now each year tens of thousands of people participate in Indore marathon and other events organized by AIM ( Academy of Indore Marathoners). He can reached on FB at https://www.facebook.com/drarun100

 

Show Notes:

 

2:00 Journey from Fat to Fit started in 1993 when I was rebuffed initially for trekking due to poor fitness
3:30 Started skipping and going to gym. Went on to doing 3000 rope skipping per day and did successful trekking
5:50 Formed Adventure club of Indore in 1996 which has done multiple adventure excursions in past 24 years.
7:05 We have immense potential in our human bodies. We should keep challenging ourselves
10:40 In 2011, Fauza Singh's Marathon finish at age of 100 inspired me to take up running
14:00 Cobbled together group of 12 people in Indore to participate in 2012 Mumbai Marathon.
16:00 Participation started swelling up in next couple years which sow the seeds for Indore Marathon
18:00 First edition of the Indore Marathon with over 15K participants in 2015
21:00 If I can start running at age of 55 then you and anybody else can do it. Age is not a bar
24:00 Running Marathon distance of 42K is a mind game. Finishing a marathon changes your life
27:00 Large % of population suffering from Metabolic syndrome due to bad eating habits and no exercise
32:00 Easy to introduce exercise in your day to day activity. Use stairs, walk more, do household chores etc
34:00 We are not getting obesity but dibesity. 1/3 of world suffers from metabolic syndrome
36:00 Intermittent Fasting can transform your body including huge reduction in weight
38:00 Feasting to fasting. Our bodies are not made to consume food continuously
41:00 Focus on low fat but carb and sugar loaded foods is causing health epidemic
42:00 We have forgotten the ages old virtues of fasting
43:00 Intermittent Fasting is not dieting. Its just adjustment of the time period when you consume any food
44:00 You can't lose weight by just exercising, you will have to work on your food and when you eat it
48:00 Intermittent fasting slowly work towards 16-8, eat during only 8 hour window, fast for 16 hours
54:00 If you have to walk thousand miles, take the first step

Epsiode Nine: P.C. Kushwaha, India's Youngest Multi-City Marathon Organizer

P.C.Kushwaha is the Founder at Thrill Zone and Head (Events Division) at Daily World International Newspaper.

While most are busy trying to deal with the newly-acquired responsibilities of a job, P.C. Kushwaha decided to walk a different path. At the very young age of 24, he established his first entrepreneurial venture called Thrill Zone. Young and motivated Kushwaha wanted to raise awareness about the importance of leading a healthy and fit life.

 

A runner since school, Kushwaha decided to take up a job after finishing his studies and worked for an American company in Gurugram for a few years. However, his calling lay elsewhere. He realized that running contained immense pleasure in itself, and its benefits to the body were just happy add-ons. He had quit running when he took up a job, but the sport refused to leave him. Seven years later he took up running again and was soon participating in every event possible, winning a number of accolades. Since 2013, he has participated in countless nation-wide half marathons. Once his passion was firmly established, he quit his secure job in 2015 and took the plunge to become a social entrepreneur.

 

He successfully completed the mountaineering Adventure course offered by the prestigious Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, India (NIM), Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. He is also a Yoga practitioner, certified by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi and Completed Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga (PGDYO)-Session 2018-2019. He has taken extensive athletic training at the JLN Stadium, New Delhi. Today, he has the distinction of having participated in over 30 events - including half-marathons, 10kms, 5kms at varied places like Ladakh, Nainital, Delhi Jim Corbett, etc and several other obstacle races nationwide.

 

Long-distance running, quite literally, took him places. He traveled all over India, even to the most scheduled spots and places he had never imagined finding himself in. While running he felt free and he wanted to share that experience with his fellow citizens from all over the country. He is consumed by a desire to ensure that his NGO – the Thrill Zone Trust – is able to motivate a maximum number of people to run and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

 

To achieve his aim of spreading awareness about health, he has now started organizing events all over India. Now he is known as Youngest Multi-city Marathon Organizer, He has successfully organized over 60 events in the last five years in Mumbai, Patiala, Dehradun, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Kathgodam, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, etc.

Episode Eight: Overcoming physical and mental trauma to achieve seeming impossible goals with Anjan Chidurala!

Overcoming physical and mental trauma to achieve seeming impossible goals with Anjan Chidurala!

 

Anjan is an IT professional who is currently lives and works in Singapore.

Despite a near fatal accident that crushed his leg and left him nearly unable to walk, Anjan fought against all odds. The doctors in Hyderabad said there was no chance of saving his leg and told him that he will be walking with an artificial prosthetic leg. However, Anjan never gave up. With mental toughness, he went through a remarkable journey of not being able to stand to running full marathons. He didn’t let his impediment get in the way of achieving something he set his mind to. He has run eleven marathons so far in India and Singapore. His right leg from knee down, bereft of any muscle mass, is a constant reminder of his resilience and toughness.

 

In this podcast, he shares his journey from the verge of never even walking again to running marathons and inspiring countless others for a fit, healthy life.

 

Anjan can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/anjan.chidurala and https://www.facebook.com/BeFitWithAnjan

 

Episode Seven: Power Lifting to Power Running - A talk with Anik Raheja, an athlete, a poet, an entrepreneur, a writer and much more

Anik Raheja, who is 35 years old, is an avid weight lifter and passionate runner. Besides running many marathons and other long distance events in past few years, he has been associated with 41 events as an ‘Ambassador’, 43 events as an ‘Official Pacer’, as ‘Face of the Event’ for three events, six events as ‘Pacers Coordinator’, two events as ‘Motivator Runner’ and two events as an ‘Event Instigator’. He has done the highest number of pacing assignments in India with a fine accuracy rate, and now does selection and mentoring of other pacers too.

 

Founder and Director, More Healthy Souls :

More Healthy Souls is an organization which creates awareness about healthy living by conducting fitness events and also works as an assistance to help people overcome drug addictions. It manages Jalandhar Running and Cycling Club, Kapurthala Running and Cycling Club, Phagwara Running and Cycling Club, Nakoder Running and Cycling Club etc.

 

Founder and President, RBAI :

RBAI stands for Runners and Bikers Association of India, it was formed to deal with the issues either on the part of organizer or participant. It has successfully sorted out several cases and helped many runners get their deserving prize.

Other Roles :

• Event Instigator and Pacers- Co-ordinator for all events of Thrill Zone
  (Since October, 2018)
• Sports Mentor for "Chaanan Vocational and Skill Training Center"
  (Assisting children who have Down Syndrome)
• Pacers co-ordinator :

             - Punjab Half Marathon, October 2018
             - Punjab Half Marathon, January 2019
             - Hoshiarpur Ride and Run, 2019
             - Dehradun Half Marathon, 2019
             - Punjab Half Marathon, February 2020
             - Daily World Marathon, 2020 (To be held)

• Run Catalyst, Decathlon Sports Utsav, 2018
• Director, Bholath Running and Cycling Club

Ambassador for all events by :

• Raceify
• Cyruns
• Super Athlete

Product Endorsements :

• Garmin
• beetWin
• Syrgent

Featured in :-

• ▪Mid Day Newspaper in context of pacing assignment in Tata Mumbai Marathon, 2018
  ▪All India Radio "Khed Jagat" on 6th July, 2019 - Interview and talk about sports and Marathons.

Facebook

• https://www.facebook.com/anikraheja

Instagram

• https://www.instagram.com/anikraheja/

 

Episode Six: Visually impaired Amarjeet provides inspirational Vision and Fitness goals for the masses!

At the young age of 64, today, Mr. Chawla has run 130 half marathons in addition to several full marathons and ultra marathons. He started losing vision at age of 13 and unfortunately lost all his vision at the age of 40. However this limitation didn't sap his courage and he started running long distance in 2004.  He is the only blind person in India to run 100+ half marathons. He has also become the only 60+ year old blind person in the world to run 100+ half marathons. Despite being visually impaired, he has run in most Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, and so on.  He is also the only blind person to complete 160-km run/walk from Mumbai-Pune.

 

Apart from running, Mr. Chawla has also done trekking and mountaineering. He has explored half of Sahyadris, some Himalayas, and done some treks in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Goa. The biggest and longest achievement was when he went to Kailash Parikrama Yatra in 2009. It was a tough one with extremely narrow and challenging patches at some places. 2-4 ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force) jawans escorted him throughout his Trek on the Tibet side.

 

GOALS (in his own words):
● I have plans of running at least 151 Half Marathons and the same number of 10km Road Races in coming years.
● If I get appropriate escorts and enough sponsorship, I wish to climb many higher peaks/Summits of the World.
● I wish to do sky diving and paragliding when I get proper reference.
By doing all this, I want to make records and set an example for people that Visually Impaired are no less than the “Normal” people.

If you wish to contact him, please reach out at +91-9821362022 or on FB at https://www.facebook.com/amarjeet.s.chawla.5

 

Episode Five: Running Nirvana and Nutrition Nuances with Power Couple Rahul and Radha Agrawal

In this episode, conversation with an old friend Rahul Agrawal and his wife Radha Agrawal.

Rahul Agrawal, 48, a logistics professional for the past 25 years, is a devoted and passionate runner since 2007. For him challenges are a part and parcel of life, which are to be faced with grit and an unyielding strength. Rahul has done several half and full marathons, 12 hr, 24 hr and 100K run across India. He has been pacer and a brand ambassador in multiple events as well. His zeal for running nudges him to constantly motivate people to take up marathon as a lifestyle change for both physical and mental well-being. For Rahul, running is the biggest stress-buster. It is a kind of Nirvana to him. 

Radha Agrawal, is a runner, cyclist and nutrition expert. In addition to running several half and full marathons, she has completed 200, 300 and 400 Km Cycling. A sports and fitness enthusiast for years, she has converted her passion into profession. She has established En Forme, a personal health and wellness clinic. She also conducts various fitness workshops and corporate  training programs.

 

 

Episode Four: Corporate to Comrades to Coaching with Coach Kay

In this episode, I am talking with Coach Kay, who is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, race director, ultramarathon running coach, fitness consultant, motivational speaker, a blogger and of course a good Samaritan with a heart of gold.

Over the years, he has completed over 50 marathons and couple dozen Ultra marathons, some at blazingly fast speeds. He also trains and mentors many athletes and continues to do so through multiple initiatives through his Kaysfit Academy.

Bio: Kannan Sundararajan, also known as Coach Kay was born and grew up in the Ooty, Tamil Nadu in India. Since childhood, he was interested in athletics and as years had passed he had developed a passion for sports, staying active and energetic. He has a deep love for endurance running & coaching.

With a Mechanical Engineering degree, Kay is also a certified project manager, agile scrum master and a Lean Six-Sigma black belt holder. He has played a wide range of leadership roles in several multinational companies including Parametric Technology Corporation and Siemens Industry Software.

After working for 24 years, he left his corporate career (LinkedIn profile) and launched KaysFIT Academy in 2016 chasing his passion.

Kay is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, race director, ultramarathon running coach, fitness consultant, and motivational speaker.

He started OOTYULTRA marathon in 2018 and the first edition of this event had attracted over 278 runners across 10 different Indian states and few international runners and the 2019 edition had 717 runners. OOTYULTRA offers 90k (only by invitation), 60k, 30k and 15k distance categories to runners with a varying level of running interests and capabilities.

He also launched Bison Ultra , an exclusive trail run, in  Yercaud.

Kay is also the founding partner for BAMA (Badminton Masters) a premium badminton tournament conducted in Bangalore on Feb 2018, which brought many talented top veteran Indian and a few international badminton players.

He has founded "Reconstruct the running foundation"  which a carefully designed program for beginners to experienced marathon/ultramarathon runners. More information is available at Reconstruct the Running Foundation 

 

Key Running Highlights

• A regular runner since 2011 and completed over 50 marathons & 20+ ultramarathons
• Mostly enjoys running ultramarathons and also the fun elements of running a faster race
• Finisher, first-ever 42 marathons, 42 consecutive weekends in 42 places in India between Jul 2015 to Apr 2016, to spread awareness on road safety & the importance of first aid through Be Safe! Be there to Save campaign 
• Back to back finisher of the Comrades Marathon (90 km ultramarathon in South Africa)
• 100-miler (160 km road race) at The Border 100 miler on the 22-23 Dec 2018 in under 27:59:00 hr
• The first-ever finisher of The Triangular Run Challenge, in May 2019, by completing 500 km in one month

 

Episode Three: Ultra Marathon inspirations with Sushil Bhasin

Sushil Bhasin is an avid runner, cyclist, swimmer, and a world record holder. At a ripe age of 60, when people are just retiring to lay back and laze away the remaining life, Sushil decided that a couple of decades of diabetes, a single kidney by birth (which is also operated upon) and a hitherto lack of physical activeness is not going to stand in the way of him in changing his lifestyle.

 

From then to being the first Indian in his age category to professionally compete and finish 100k, 100 Miles, 200 Miles, and 300 Miles Sushil is unstoppable. Based out of Bangalore, India, Sushil manages multiple businesses including Bhasin International, Bhasinsoft India Ltd., BS Talent Solutions Pvt. Ltd, and Bhasin Sports. 

His Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/sushilkumarbhasinofficial and Bhasin Sports website is https://www.bhasinsports.com

Episode Two: Run for fun with Bharti Barodia

Bharti Barodia is an Entrepreneur dealing in Fitness machines and sports infrastructure and a triathlete residing in Indore, India. She has been actively involved with endurance sports like running, cycling, and swimming for many years now.

She was the first female athlete from Central India to finish the “Half Iron Man" event which comprises 1.8Km of swimming, 90 Km of cycling, and 21 Km of running. She has also run various full and half marathons across India and has cycled thousands of kilometers in the past several years. She is actively involved in promoting exercise and running for the masses to achieve a healthy and fit lifestyle. 

She can be reach through her FB page at https://www.facebook.com/bharti9

Episode One: Meditation through marathons with Vivek Singhal

Vivek Singhal is an IT entrepreneur and a seasoned runner from Indore, India. He was probably the first one from Indore to participate in Mumbai marathon in 2008. He has run in places like Satara, Auroville, Leh, Singapore, Melbourne. He is one of the few Indians to go to Two Oceans 56 km run in South Africa in 2014 and later where he was the flag-bearer from India for three consecutive years. He has also done Comrades run which is a 90 km marathon, back to back in 2015 and 2016. He is a cyclist as well and has done Manali to Leh and Guwahati to Tawang cycle expeditions.

According to Vivek, "Running an IT company takes me traveling around the world which gave me an opportunity to run on all the continents practically with some lovely stretches like The Great Ocean Road in Melbourne or in the deserts of Namibia, or mountains of Cremia erstwhile Ukraine, or the mud tracks of the Running Village in Adis Ethiopia. Running was always a fun and meditative activity for me, so I never ran for personal best ever and took big breaks from running in between, that prevented injuries of any kind."