Summers, when sun heats up the earth and everybody likes to remain inside the AC rooms, laziness took over the spirit of working out, idea to run daily for continuous 100 days in summer’s hottest days came out of some genius mind.
Challenge was started through out India to run at-least 2km daily for 100 days from April 29,2017 to Aug 6,2017
2km is not a big show to run in a day but having a discipline to run daily despite of obstacles really requires discipline. As it goes

“You will never always be motivated. You have to learn to be disciplined”.

More than 4000 runners participated through pan India.

Stats of my run:

– 817.77km completed in 100 days making an average of 8.18km per day.
– In span of 100 days, I ran in Panchkula, Chandigarh, Manali, Kasol, Manikaran and my hometown Yamuna Nagar.
– I ran with many running buddies including Rajesh, Pankaj, Shakti, Tushar, Bhim, Deepak, Pooja, Dalip, Suraj, Amit and at best team CDR
– Running doesn’t stop in any weather either it’s sunny, humid or raining. Even, rainy days captures some of the best moments.
– These 100 days covers variety in form of interval runs, long distance runs, fast paced short runs, intense workout for strength building.
– Running done with shoes, sleepers, and even barefoot with a thin layer of socks to protect from stones on the track.
– Running on synthetic tracks, concrete roads, grass, sand, from flat to hills.
– Running at different times from 4:23 AM early morning to 11:07 PM in the night.
– Discovered lot of beautiful routes.

Although, running for 100 days was not a competition with anybody, but with our-self.
– Some of the stats comparable to other runners put me at #Rank 2 in Panchkula, from where I registered myself for this event and among top 6% runners through India in logging maximum mileage.
– PB timings for different distances durning those 100 days:

PB	Best before 100 days started	Best after 100 days completed
2Km	08:59	08:40
5Km	26:39	24:18
10Km	52:37	50:38
Max. distance covered	21.41Km	30Km
Max. time on foot during run	02:09:58	03:21:42

Not forget to mention “Chandigarh Distance Runners” – group of highly motivated and elite runners, and a reason that I am still running makes it’s position at top 1 in 100days

“Some days were easy and some were really painful, but it was worth every little bit of pain.”
There was some moments when it’s going hard to push but will to go and inspiration from other runners of CDR keep me going. Some of the moments like:
– I use to come from Yamuna Nagar to Chandigarh on Monday, so running for the day was planned in evening. In office, plan to watch some movie followed by dinner at BBQ was made instantly. So, it was at about 10 PM in the night, when I just had my dinner, having bag on shoulders and wearing jeans instead of shorts. It was really tough even to run just 2Km.
– Running during trip to Manali. First day when I reached Manali in morning after sleepless night, running on steep hills where even walking seems difficult, running was giving me the immense feeling of runner.
– Running in high fever, when even getting out of bed means putting stress on body, I completed my daily quota of run (although with multiple stops in between).
– Chaffing: I remember when I reached home and my parents was scared after seeing my tee becoming yellow to red. But it’s a norm in long distance running.

Few experiences I remember:
– I was running along with Pankaj, and our roommate Varinder (Mr. Chintu) was accompanying us on his newly bought bicycle
– Running with Deepak, who ran 8km on his first run and 14Km on his second run as my running buddy (He still think that as most scared day). He was just a newbie in running and he extended his limits although he never come for running with me after that day 😀
– After having dinner, running in late night with my two drunk friends in loops and then sprint was one of the most experiencing moment. Although when I was running to complete my daily target, they were running to lower the impact of alcohol.

Learnings:
– How to move mind and keep going when pain in stomach starts during run
– Completing defined target even when you are not mentally ready or physically recovered after hard run
– Must carry hydration if it’s above 5Km
– Better to go early for long runs.
– If intervals or intense workout is planned, must carb load well.
– If mentally not ready, don’t go for loops.. Specific route is good as we are pushed to complete it. No loops.
– Try new routes, it helps mentally especially when running alone.
– Small stride / running barefoot or on socks is very easy.
– For long distances, glucose or any other energy drink and raisins/chocolates for energy is a booster.

 

Running isn’t a sport for pretty boys…It’s about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It’s the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It’s about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It’s about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there’s not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you’ve finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that’s all that you can ask for. ~Paul Maurer

Now, after I gained so much, I look forward to run more distance in coming years and especially my first Full Marathon this year.

 

Update: I have strongly finished IDBI New Delhi Marathon & improved upon my timings.

Keep running.
Keep rocking.