TCS World 10k 2019 – the bells and whistles

Almost exactly a year back, I took a plunge into coaching, with Cult fitness, thanks to my dear friend Dharma. My stadium run in July got some attention and I signed up later with Asics & Garmin as their coaches for Bangalore. Asics Running Club (ARC) was inaugurated on Sep 15^th with yours truly as a lead coach.

Although skeptical to begin with, my approach to coaching (as coaches) has changed drastically over the last 1 year and I’m truly enjoying my association with ARC and Garmin.

Asics is the sporting goods partner for all 4 major Procam runs in India and I was excited to be a part of the run up to the TCS World 10k. I was just getting back to running after the Chandigarh run earlier this year and I was happy to get back to some speed workouts. Although, I had about 6 weeks, I was hoping (and training for) a sub 39min. Most of the speed work were “comfortably – hard”, I wish they were more “comfortable” and less “hard”.

I was excited about the opportunity to get some branding for ARC and get more members added in. I had even (brashly) suggested that ARC Bangalore should lead the warm-up routine. In any case, the Expo is a good showcase for both Asics and Garmin.

Spanner in the works!

It was vacation time for my kids and we had to keep our 3 year cadence and had planned a holiday in Phuket 2 weeks before the event! Work-wise travel has come down a lot lately, but I was told to attend a sales conference at Bangkok, in the last week of the race! Back to back travel does take its toll.

My Bangkok travel meant that I had to miss the “Breaking Bread” event, a great opportunity to meet the elite field.

The Big Surprise was the call that came while I was in Bangkok – Procam had offered ARC to lead the warm-up indeed!!! It was certainly a great opportunity! 

I had to quickly put together a team of runners – 5 on the main stage and one each in 4 pods around the stadium!

I got 3 of my trainees to join, 2 coaches from Chennai & Hyd joined, 2 influencers made up the team. I threw in a proposal to my wife to join, and she willingly agreed. We were a team!

I landed in Bangalore with 30hrs to go, for the start of the 10k - a whole lot of excitement and nervousness – plenty to be done before I get to the start line! To add to the festivity, I had requested my dad to bring my kids to the stadium and baby sit them at the Asics Lounge, so they could experience some of this too!

That evening at the Expo, we were still sorting out our Bibs, our participation as a part of the Asics team was not communicated to Procam that was handling registrations! In the middle of that mess, we did a quick rehearsal of the warm-up routine. Many thanks to JBX who helped fine tune the drills!

In “Wear Sunscreen”, xxx advices you to “Do something that you are afraid of”. For me, this was that moment – I could have handed over the lead responsibility to JBX, but choose to do that one thing I was afraid of! In hindsight, I was glad I did!

We were told that our gear, the tee shirts, would be handed out at the arena.

Race day

0315 hrs: Wake up, shut the butterflies in the stomach, make sure you have all you need.

0400 hrs: Carry the half sleepy kids to the car and drive to the venue with dad and wife

0430 hrs: Co-ordinate with the Aditi from Procam (to take us to the main stage), with wife and kids (we were separated while I went to find parking), with the rest of my team (there are some 15 gates to the stadium to make things complicated), with Asics marketing (to get our tee shirts!) and my own heart (which was pounding to a tempo beat).

0450 hrs: Get into position, realize too late that the gear will not come on time. Handed out worn out Asics shoes to team members and an Asics windcheater to a team mate to conceal competitors logo! Get the mike and headset fixed and checked.

0455 hrs: Good morning Bengaluru!!!

The next 20mins, I had the time of my life. I had planned it in a way that the tempo increases towards the end. The initial nervousness made way for some adrenaline. It was a delight to see the stands full of runners repeating after you and humbled by the experience. As the tempo increased, the runners’ energy was rippling throughout the stadium in the twilight.

0514 hrs: We finished on time, some quick shout out reading ARC and we were ushered to the starting line. Shreya made her way to the Asics Lounge to join my dad and the kids!

0530 hrs: The flag waved the start of the race, I still have the 10k to go.

After the race was done, while interacting with members of my Club, I could only dwell on how far I had come – from being the “WANTED” runner to leading them on the main stage!

My 40:40 timing was eclipsed with some gritty performances (many Personal Best / PB) from my mentees:

Bama 1:24, Sneha 59:23, Abhi 39:20, Arun 54 PB, Ashwin 58:58 PB, Jeya 1:04, Karthik 52:00 PB, Madhu 49:00, Navneeth 1:05, Padyumna 58:22 PB, Sachin 57:47 PB, Sriram 1:04:24 PB, Vignesh 53:17 PB.

The Champions dinner later that evening brought down the curtains to a great event and an unforgettable experience for me and my family!!

(with the Tennis legend Sanchez at the Champions dinner)

How to set up your Garmin Forerunner for a marathon PB

You have trained hard for your race and getting ready for the D-day. My Garmin GPS is my trusted companion in all my interval and tempo training runs. It is my indispensable partner on my race day. The Forerunner provides many customizable features to help you race better. I am sharing a few here, to help you get to your PB. The settings are generic, but with TataMumbai Marathon (TMM) fever picking up, this post will be somewhat specific.

1. Pace thresholds

You can set up thresholds on your Garmin for max and min pace (in mins / km or mins / mile). When your pace goes over the max pace threshold or below the min pace threshold, your Garmin will give you an alert – a buzz.

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Alerts > Add New > Pace.

Input your pace for Fast Alert and Slow Alert.

TMM is mostly a flat course, and therefore, for most of the race, you should be able to be in your pace range. Although, a negative split finish is desirable, I tend to slow down during my last quartile. If I am targeting a 5min/km pace, I would set my max pace at 4:50 and min at 5:20, to budget for a bit of slowing down.

If this is your first marathon, you can also use the Run/Walk Alert to follow a Hal-Higdon like method. Input the Run time and the Walk time. I recommend a 9min run + 1 min walk cycle for the race day.

As for Pedder road uphill, I recommend going with the heart rate threshold alert (below).

2. Heart rate (HR) thresholds

You can set up thresholds on your Garmin for max and min heart rate (in mins/km or mins/mile). When your pace goes over the max HR threshold or below the min HR threshold, your Garmin will give you an alert – a buzz.

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > User Profile > Heart rate > Max. HR.

Input your Max Heart rate (if you know it. Else you can use 220 minus your age, for an approximation)

Setting the alert:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Alerts > Add New > Heart Rate.

Input the zone for High Alert and Low Alert

Going by the HR is one of the oldest techniques in the book. While I use this mostly during ultras, this is a great technique for first time marathoners, who have a “finish” goal. In order to sustain a marathon effort, you need to keep your HR between 60 – 80% of your max HR to be in the aerobic zone. I use the max HR threshold to tell me to slow down (or in case of Pedder road incline – to walk the uphill). But I find the min HR indicator also useful to pull up my pace during a long flat stretch or a downhill.

3. Virtual partner

You can race with a virtual partner, who runs at a constant pace that you can set. Typically, the virtual partner is set to your race pace target.

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Data Screens > Add New > Virtual Partner.

Enter a pace or speed value.

On Race day:

Start your activity

Select UP or DOWN to scroll to the Virtual Partner screen and see who is leading.

This an optional setting, if you are inclined to see another view of how far ahead or behind you are compared to your race pace. It is like having your own personalized pacer. I prefer the pace thresholds (discussed above) to the Virtual partner. Go ahead, give it a try, see if you fancy it.

If you are having a bad day and you wish to stop all this, hold down the UP button and go to Settings. Scroll down to Smart Notifications and then select to turn them off completely.

4. Data Screens settings

The next few settings are crucial, because unlike thresholds, you use this almost all the time during your run. It is useful to track data (pace, average pace, HR, etc.) but what good is it, if you can’t access it easily.

Garmin FR935 allows you to change some of these settings even during your activity, without the need to pause the activity (a brilliant feature). But who wants to fiddle around with buttons (and affect your form) while you are trying to keep a steady rhythm.

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Data Screens > Edit > Layout

Select 4 Fields Layout

Choose the Fields as per your preference.

Garmin allows for 2 split, 3 split or 4 split screens. And can toggle between 3 screens (either automatically or manually). I like to keep 2 screens – a Summary screen and a Lap screen.

In the Summary screen, I have Total distance, Total time, Average pace and Current pace

In the lap screen, I have Lap distance, Lap time, Lap pace and Current pace.

 

I keep current pace in both screens on the top right corner, so it’s easy to read at a glance. I set it at automatic toggle. Settings > Activities & Apps > Select Run > Select Run settings > Auto Scroll – On (Slow / Medium / Fast)

5. Auto-lap

Auto-lap feature allows to mark at a pre-set location (the start) or at a specific interval (distance or time).

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Auto Lap > Auto Distance > Set Distance

Why Auto-lap? As the course, the conditions and your pace goes a bit up and down, I like to keep a view on the average. As the race progresses, the overall average doesn’t give a good sense of the current pace due to base effect. A 5k split helps to keep track of the pace better. Also, I mentioned earlier, I slow down somewhat during the 3^rd and 4^th quartile of the race. I like to “bank” some time in anticipation of this. If I have made up a min in the previous 5k lap, I like to put it behind and start afresh for the next lap. I set the auto-lap for 5k and try to keep even splits.

6. Summary display / Lap Alert

There is an auto-alert when the auto-lap is triggered for a new lap. And the display switches for a few seconds to the Summary display / Lap alert. You can customize the fields displayed for this view.

How to set this:

Hold = (UP button)

Select Settings > Activities & Apps.

Select Run.

Select Run settings.

Select Auto Lap > Lap Alert

Select Primary Field and Secondary Field as per your preference.

I like to set this to show the Lap total time and Lap average pace (for the just concluded lap). At 5mins / km, this should be in the vicinity of 25:00 per lap.

7. Backlight

The Garmin uses the Gesture sensor to switch the backlight on, when you turn your wrist to view the screen. For a longer race, (such as my recent 24h runs, when I put off the backlit to make my FR935 last for the entire 24hrs), I keep the backlight off, but for a marathon, especially, given the early start at TMM, I suggest you to retain the default setting.

8. Post-race analysis

Congratulations!!! By now, you have crossed that finish line.

Sync your activity with Garmin Connect for plethora of reports, of splits, pace, HR. During days after the run, I use this to analyze where I was strong and where I slowed. It helps me get better and also do some interesting infographics like this one.

Share the work out with your coach to work on your next PB!!

Ps: If you do have your own settings that has worked for you, drop in a comment to help others along!!

Ace the Race! Good luck for TMM!! #beatyesterday

2017 – the year of reading!

I used to be a voracious reader while in school, and had (to my parents’ amusement & pride) had asked for second hand books as a birthday present during Class VII. Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha, Phantom & Mandrake was my parallel universe. I had loved my Enid Blytons, Hardy Boys, Three investigators and Famous Fives. I graduated to Robin Cook, Authur Hailey, Jeffery Archer, John Grisham & Michael Crichton as I finished my engineering. From then, things went downhill – an odd book here or there, didn’t count much for someone who had mastered the art of reading while walking to the bus stop and back, who read during dinner when the TV was also on, in a crowded bus, etc.

But thanks to D, who religiously puts up a list of his reads for the year on his blog, the reading bug resurfaced. But of course, my life is revolving around kids, and their love to tear up books. But then, phone displays also got bigger this year. 5.5inch length of the phone = width of a page on a book, voila!!

I downloaded an app, FB Reader, got myself ebooks (pdfs & epub formats) from open content online and I was good to go. But, hey, how do you read from a phone, it doesn’t have the same feel as a book, right? But for me, the option of quietly reading up a few pages as I put the kids to sleep or snooze with them, to be able to read from a “night” (dark background with white letters) and dim the display to sleep at night as the kids sleep, and the convenience of having a book (and few) around whenever you have 5 mins to spare, far outweigh the “feel” factor.

The evidence is here – I have finished 18 books this year, maybe more than the last 5 years combined. As you would have guessed, many of them are running related, but I also like behavioral economics and added some fiction as well. To cherry on the cake, is that some of this seems to have rubbed off on my better half. She has overcome a mental barrier and does a lot of reading on her daily commutes now. Between us, we hope to turn a few new leaves, as far as our reading habit is concerned, in 2018.

Please do drop a note in the comments section below, if you have any book recommendations or even otherwise.

While you do that, here’s my list of book from my year of reading:

1.       In search of meaning by Viktor Frankl – I have visited the concentration camps at Auschwitz in Poland. The book says the story in an unforgettable manner and introduces logotherapy – a great read.

2.       When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi – I read this book as one of my vivacious aunts was fighting a losing battle with cancer. The later stages of the book made me cry like a baby.

3.       Marathon woman by Katherine Switzer – This book and Zatopek’s book set in the evolutionary stages of marathon running was easy to relate to, given the similar set up in which I took up training, racing, etc. myself.

4.       Anywhere by home by Anu Vaidyanathan – This was one I didn’t like at all. The book had her stubborn attitude on display from start to end.

5.       Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler – This was recommended by a friend and I actually read the hard copy of this one. It was thoroughly refreshing and helps break a few boundaries we have to exercise. Itzler brings out his out of box approach to exercise in this endeavor.

6.       Jaya by Devdutt Patnaik – I already knew Mahabharat from Amar Chitra Katha, I had read this a few times over in my childhood days. So I didn’t find anything new in Devdutt’s book. I was hoping for some of his interpretation, but barring the first few chapters, the rest fell into routine narration.

7.       Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin – Hmm, honestly can’t remember enough of this one.

8.       Racing weight by Matt Fitzgerald – Nothing that I took back into my running from this one, except some broad principles.

9.       What if: Serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions by Randall Munroe – I liked the concept, but it was somewhat high transmission for me.

10.   Ready to Run: Unlocking your potential to run naturally by T J Murphy – Good read. It lists some 12 standards. I particularly picked up a few stretches to improve my own flexibility.

11.   Today we die a little by Emil Zatopek – This was a peek into the mind of a truly competitive running legend.

12.   Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari – I loved reading this (maybe because I took forever to finish this). Right from the foraging sapiens to agricultural & industrial revolution had good nuggets of information and perspectives. I only wish he had dwelled a bit more on the future, about bioengineered humans and amortal cyborgs

13.   Why we Run: A natural history by Heinrich – This is considered a classic, it’s an amalgamation of Heinrich’s expertise in biology and passion for running. I didn’t share the same passion for biology and the book felt a little flat for me.

14.   Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter – It explains why smartphones make dumb kids. As a parent, it reinforced what we already practiced about keeping laptops and smartphones away from toddlers.

15.   A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman – The story unfolds and with it our admiration for the protagonist. Fast paced, refreshing characters, some great story telling, I was actually sad that the book ended when it did.

16.   The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques by Patrick McKeown. The author has a lifetime of experience in breathing and helping children with improving breathing. I tried to use the breath holding techniques in my running, ignoring the stares that I get as I run past inquisitive walkers with my nose closed!

17.   Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler – If this is your first book on behavioral economics you will like it. But I have read a few of this genre, there was nothing new that this book had to offer.

18.   Moonwalking with Einstein  by Joshua Foer – With some serious commitment, the author goes from covering the US memory championship as a journalist, to actually winning it. Although it opens your mind to the powers of how you can train it, as the author self-confesses, it does tell you how you can use these techniques to help remember names (which is my big weakness)

19.   Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens – Yet to complete this, but you can imagine the amount of stories that Big Data can throw up (even in work-related contexts), especially when you combine Facebook and Pornhub. I can already see myself using some of these anecdotes at work.

What did you like in 2017? What do you recommend for me? Share your thoughts in the comments section please.

2016 – year of the salad

Somewhere by the end of last year, I took upon myself to keep a tab on my weight. Sustainable weight reduction is perhaps a bigger benefit to better running, than form correction / gear / training or any other. Runner or not, who doesn’t want to rid of that excess fat.

Now in the eleventh hour of my intermittent fast, not sure if a food post is the best way to keep my mind off the rumbling in my tummy. Nevertheless, I will try to share my diet journey.

Step 1 – Measure

I was new to this whole calorie counting thing. When I started, I had no clue what a 20 calorie or 2000 calorie meant. No idea of how much I was eating. My sister is a dietician and she gave me some Diet 101 advice to start with – eat more frequently, reduce portion size, have protein for recovery, drink plenty of water, yada yada. I guess I only followed the “eat more frequently” part of the advice.

When I grew more impatient, she put me on to a diet log – MyfitnessPal App. You can’t improve what you cannot measure (remnants from a six sigma training?). A brief on the App itself. It is fantastic – simple to use, database with many Indian foods to search and add. Personal tip – if you are eating home-cooked food, look for home-cooked options in the database. If you don’t find something you are looking for, try its Tamil name. You can also scan bar codes on food labels to add directly. It also gets you to set goals based on your profile. Nowadays though, after ArmourUnder bought them, the ads have gone up.

It’s a great first step because now, you get a feel for the calories. Give yourself 4-6 weeks of logging your meals & snacks in, and it gives you a fair idea of how you are doing. To begin with, I made guesstimates on my portion sizes. Things didn’t seem to add up. It finally took a kitchen scale, to convince me that I was over eating by about 10-15%. It’s funny when you put your rice on the weighing scale before you add it to your plate, but you will get over it.

Ok, you probably don’t need all that to tell you that you are over eating. What next?

Step 2 – Substitute

This is the fun part – how to have the cake and eat it too.

Like you, I don’t like to compromise on my eating. But at dinner time, when the app says, I have 200 calories left to keep it under my goal, you have put to put on your thinking cap. This is approximately how the numbers stacked up for me –

Morning coffee with biscuits 200

+ Breakfast 650

+ Lunch 850

+ Evening coffee with biscuits 200

+ Dinner?? – 300 (??) = 2200 target

A snack here, some nuts or a sweet? and dinner was deep red. Well, I did add my calories burnt via exercise, but despite that, I found it challenging to meet my daily goals.

I made 3 major substitutions over the next few months with almost no change taste or prep time or effort or energy levels

1. No added sugar (save 100 calories)
2. White rice to brown rice (save 200 calories)
3. Replace dinner plate to a smaller one. Reduce portion size, but get more helpings if needed

I moved from 3 biscuits to 1 with coffee (sugarless) in a smaller cup. I was eating more whole foods – fruits and nuts. I began to eat less “out of a pack” or processed food. Began to look at the label (while continuing to scan the barcode for the app) a lot more.

The initial success – of being able to keep my race weight was motivating enough to try more.

Step 3 - Discovering Salad

Vegetables and nuts started creeping into my diet gradually, a little here and a little there. The big leaps happened during my business trips to the US. US trips are easy to pick up that excess baggage. On one such trip, I decided to only eat healthy. I was already running high mileage and was talking about by diet experiments with all and sundry. Got some great advice from a vegan ultra runner while on a trail run in Texas. My options were limited to soups and salads, and I loved them. I didn’t miss rice.

Back home, I started out with salad as an evening snack to help cut down my dinner portion. A 6 or 7pm salad would conquer my tummy, leaving no space for dinner. Still, out of fear of hunger, I showed down that too.

Then I took that leap of faith. I increased my salad bowl, moved it to dinner time and cut my rice to just one small cup of curd rice. No diet without curd rice is sustainable. Of course, a little extra salad dressing helped.

I have some 30 ingredients that go in, at times. A bunch of veggies – tomato, carrot, bell peppers, cucumber, radish, beets, potato, broccoli or cauliflower, peas and corn. Greens – lettuce or spinach. Then there are sprouts, beans, Rajma, chick peas. Flax seeds, chia, walnuts or groundnuts, some raisins. For protein there’s Quinoa, Soya chunks and boiled or scrambled eggs. A mayo based dressing, vinaigrette, lime, honey, salt and pepper. All mixed with a spoon of coconut or olive oil or topped with cheese. It’s fun to try out different stuff. I try raw (food processor chopped) or steamed veggies, also baked sometimes. I sometimes start with a tadka, with some coconut for a simple Usli / Sundal.

Ps: the pic is just representative. I have not become a professional chef, not just yet.

I love the process, chopping, boiling, mixing it up and eating!!! Burp!

Step 4 – Intermittent Fasting

From food to no food

Somewhere along the way, I added a 24-hr fast to the fray. For a few months, I regularly did a water-only 24hr (actually 20 – 32hr) fast on Ekadashi, the 11^th day of the moon, every fortnight. This was a challenge, I didn’t enjoy the headaches that came after about 20hours. I had to move around my running schedule to accommodate this. When my Ultra calendar got busier, the day long fast stopped.

I read about Intermittent Fasting (IF), the variation where you go 16hr fast, followed by a 8 hour eating window, everyday! The trick is to have an early dinner (by 8pm) and then skip breakfast, directly into an early lunch at noon. I started a couple of months back with 14-10, not willing to let go of my breakfast. But now, I skip it altogether. Most days, I have a bulletproof coffee – black coffee with coconut oil (no kidding, look it up) at around 10. I also manage to put in my morning runs on empty as well, with no noticeable dip in energy levels.

But I do eat almost all the time in my 8 hour window, more fruits and veggies, nuts and good fats. I am trying to get processed flour / maida out of the way. My wife has started fermenting vegetables, with lots of help from Ms. AR and now my sister is leading us into the baking world. I just baked my first banana-walnut cake with Wheat and Oats last week.

The thinking cap is being substituted with a Chef’s hat. My growling stomach has gone silent, now to ease into my last 3 hours of fast for the day!!

Have a filling 2017.

My Running Resume

Inspiration to make this post was drawn from lindsay’s blog here

My Personal Best Timing for various distances

• ·         5k - Urban Stampede 5k (5 Aug 12 and 2 Aug 15) - 19:38
• ·         6mi - Mizuno Blaydon Race 6mi (9 Jun 09) - 42:11
• ·         10k - Bengaluru 10K Challenge (9 Jul 17) - 39:01
• ·         21.1k - Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (20 Sep 15) - 1:28:18
• ·         42.2k - Shriram Properties Bangalore Marathon (15 Oct 2017) - 3:20:15
• ·         50k - Golden Gate Trail 50k (6 Feb 16) - 5:28:33
• ·         51k - Run to Nandi 51k (26 Sep 09) - 6:57:00
• ·         75k - Bangalore Ultra Marathon 75k (15 Nov 09) - 10:36:14
• ·         78k - Bangalore Ultra Marathon 78km (16 Dec 07) - 12:07:00
• ·         100k - Bangalore Ultra Marathon (07 Nov 15) - 14:18:43
• ·         110k - Malnad Ultra 2016 (08 Oct 16) - 13:44:48
• ·         12hr - Bengaluru Stadium Run (29 Jul 17) - 102.4kms
• ·         24hr - Tuffman 24h Stadium Run (10 Mar 19) - 202.4kms

(* Indicates Personal Best at that point)

2005

• ·         Lipton Bangalore International Marathon (15 May 05) 6:05:00*
• ·         JSW Bangalore Half Marathon (18 Dec 05) 2:30:00*

2006

• ·         TOI Bangalore International Marathon (17 Sep 06) 05:35:00*
• ·         Moonlight Bangalore Hash Half Marathon (8 April 06) 03:00:00
• ·         Run #408 of Bangalore Hash House Harriers (26 Feb 06)

2007

• ·         Bangalore Midnight Half Marathon (19 May 07) 2:22:00*
• ·         Kavery Trail Marathon (18 Nov 07)  4:47:00*
• ·         Bangalore Ultra Marathon 78km (16 Dec 07) 12:07:00*

2008

• ·         Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (20 Jan 08) 4:29:52*
• ·         Sunfeast World 10k Bangalore (18 May 08) 47:54:00
• ·         Hampi Heritage Half Marathon (June 08) 5:00:00
• ·         Great Tibetan Marathon (19 July 08) 5:20:01 – 18^th position
• ·         Spirit of Wipro 10k Run (8 Sep 08) 44:51:00*  – 5^th Position
• ·         Kavery Trail Marathon (19 Oct 08)  4:35:32
• ·         Bangalore Ultra Marathon 75km (16 Nov 08) 11:04:20*- 4^th Position

2009

• ·         Bangalore Midnight Half Marathon (14 Jan 09) 1:57:00*
• ·         Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (18 Jan 09) 4:50:09
• ·         Auroville Marathon (15 Feb 09) 4:01:06 – 7^th position
• ·         Mizuno Blaydon Race 6mi (9 Jun 09) 42:11
• ·         Urban Stampede 5k (22 Aug 09) 22:20 – 18^th position
• ·         Hyderabad Hi-tech Marathon (30 Aug 09) 3:50:01* - 4^th position
• ·         Run to Nandi 51k (26 Sep 09) 6:57:00
• ·         Spirit of Wipro 10k Run (10 Oct 09) 44:11* - 2^nd position
• ·         Bangalore Ultra Marathon 75k (15 Nov 09) 10:36:14
• ·         Bangalore Midnight Marathon (12 Dec 09) 4:20:00

2010

• ·         Auroville Marathon (14 Feb 10) 4:08:31
• ·         Spirit of Wipro 10k Run (09 Oct 10) 44:30 - 1^st position
• ·         Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (05 Dec 10) 3:50:08
• ·         Bengaluru Midnight Half Marathon (11 Dec 10) 1:43:50*

2011

• ·         Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (16 Jan 11) 4:26:17
• ·         Mysore Celebration Half marathon (02 Oct 11) 1:40:28
• ·         Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (09 Oct 11)1:39:06* – 2^nd position

2012

• ·         Auroville Marathon (12 Feb 12) 4:11:00
• ·         Cluj Napoca Marathon (22 April 12) 3:58:25
• ·         TCS World 10k (27 May 12) 42:51*
• ·         Puma Urban Stampede - 5k (5 Aug 12) 19:38*
• ·         Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (15 Sep 2012) 1:35:58* - 1st position
• ·         Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (26 Aug 12) 3:31:33*
• ·         The Wipro Chennai Marathon (02 Dec 12) 3:27:59* 

2013

• ·         TCS World 10k (19 May 13) 45:35
• ·         Dream Runners half marathon (7 Jul 13) 1:47:19
• ·         Bangalore-Hiriyur-Bangalore Brevet ride 300k (22 Jun 13) 15:30
• ·         SFS Bangalore road bike race (28 July 13) 49k in 1:32
• ·         Puma Urban Stampede - 5k (4 Aug 13) 21:31
• ·         The Wipro Chennai half marathon (01 Dec 13) 1:41:10
• ·         SBI Bangalore midnight marathon (14 Dec 13) 3:29:44

2014

• ·         Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (19 Jan 14) 3:27:34*
• ·         Horseshoe lake trail 50k Ultra (18 May 14) 6:09:27* - AG 2nd position
• ·         Dream runners Half Marathon (22 Jun 14) 2:27:52
• ·         Puma Urban Stampede - 5k (3 Aug 14) 0:20:12
• ·         Burnham Beeches Half Marathon (17 Aug 14) 1:31:03*
• ·         Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (21 Sep 14) - 1:29:41* - 3rd position
• ·         Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon (19 Oct 14) 3:22:57*

2015

• ·         5k - Urban Stampede 5k (2 Aug 15) - 19:38*
• ·         Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (20 Sep 15) - 1:28:18* - 3rd position
• ·         Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon (18 Oct 15) 3:42:02
• ·         Performax Bengaluru Ultra 100k (07 Nov 15) 14:18:43 - AG 4th position

2016

• ·         50k - Golden Gate Trail 50k (6 Feb 16) - 5:28:33* - AG 3rd position
• ·         10k - TCS World 10k (15 May 16) - 39:33* - AG 4th position
• ·         60k - Pedernales Falls Trail (25 Jun 16) - 7:32*
• ·         12h - Bengaluru Stadium Run (6 Aug 16) - 92.8kms*
• ·         50k - Cinderella Trail (13 Aug 16) - 6:25 - AG 4th position
• ·         110k - Malnad Ultra 2016 (08 Oct 16) - 13:44:48* - 2nd position
• ·         Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon (18 Oct 16) 5:13:46 - Pacer

2017

• ·         10k - TCS World 10k (21 May 17) - 39:07* - AG 4th position
• ·         10k - Bengaluru 10K Challenge (9 Jul 17) - 39:01* - AG 6th position
• ·         Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (17 Sep 17) - 1:28:52 - 2nd position
• ·         12hr - Bengaluru Stadium Run (29 Jul 17) - 102.4kms*
• ·         Shriram Properties Bangalore Marathon (15 Oct 2017) - 3:20:15* - AG 7th
• ·         Wipro Chennai Marathon (3 Dec 2017) - 3:22:59

2018

• ·       10k – Kalenji Pre-race 10k (13 May 18) - 39:11
• ·       24hr - Bengaluru Stadium Run (4-5 Aug 18) - 189.8kms* - Winner
• ·       Hyderabad Ultra 50k (4 Nov 18) - 04:52:54*
• ·       24hr – Asian and Oceanic 24hr Championship (1-2 Dec 18) – 126kms – Team Bronze
• ·       24hr - Delhi Stadium Run (15-16 Dec 18) - 176.8kms
• ·       Bengaluru Ultra 50k (23 Dec 18) – 5:18:19

2019

• ·      24hr – Tuffman Chandigarh Stadium Run (9-10 Mar 19) - 202.2kms* - Runner up
• ·      24hr – Bengaluru Stadium Run (9-10 Mar 19) - 198kms
• ·      TCS World 10k Bengaluru (19 May 19) – 40:48
• ·      Bengaluru 10k Challenge (7 July 19) – 54:55 - Pacer
• ·      VSA 5k Run for a cause (11 Aug 19) – 19:41 - Winner
• ·      The Bull Run 50k (8 Sep 19) 5:10:39 - Winner
• ·      Spirit of Wipro Half marathon (22 Sep 19) – 1:28:06
• ·      Shriram Properties Bengaluru marathon (13 Oct 19) – 4:00:01
• ·      Malnad Ultra 100k (2^nd Nov 19) 16:24:17

2020

• ·      12hr – Church Street First (12 Dec 2020) - 94kms
• ·      Run to the Moon (18th July 2020) - 100km - 11:13:49
• ·      AFI 6h Solidarity run (29 Aug 2020) - 66.66k
• ·      TCS World 10k Bengaluru (19 May 19) – 40:48

2021

• ·      24hr – Bengaluru Stadium Run (20-21 Jan 21) - 157kms
• ·      IAU AFI 6h Solidarity run (21 Mar 2021) - 56k
• ·      24hr – Bengaluru Stadium Run (7 -8 Aug 2021) - 120kms
• ·      Malnad Ultra (27 Nov 2021) 80k - 10:49

2022

• ·      --------- XXX --------------

2023

• ·      Geelong Half Marathon (16 Apr 23) - 1:47:26
• ·      Bengaluru Midnight Marathon (16 Dec 23) - 3:45

2024

• ·      Bengaluru 12h stadium run (27 Jul 24) - 85.6k
• ·      Stonehill Founder's day Half Marathon (15 Sep 24) - 1:35:42
• ·      Hennur Bamboo Ultra 50k (6 Oct 24) - 4:58
• ·      100k Solo Footpath Run (15 Dec 24) - 14:25

2025

• ·     Wipro Bengaluru Marathon (21 Sep 25) - 3:41:40
• ·     Postal Mysore Marathon (26 Oct 25) - 3:58:27

2026 to 2079

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