At the age of 16, I underwent knee surgery for the dislocation of the left knee joint, which re-occurred at the age of 21 and I was left to live a sedentary life. Before, I was a very active kid with an active interest in dancing and sports. I was disappointed but had no other choice. After graduation, I entered the corporate rat race, where I completely neglected my health. I realized this in 2017 when I could not even tie my shoe-lace. I was almost 100 kgs in weight with a lot of health problems and a messy lifestyle.

2018, I took a new year’s resolution to change my lifestyle to make a difference to my overall wellbeing. I joined the Gym, but frequent travelling forced me to miss the gym regularly. Through Facebook, I saw many individuals taking virtual running challenges. In September 2018, I started running and also started preparing for my first run in Pune for 6 km. In 2019, I took the 100 days running challenge by HDOR and was able to complete 99/100 days. HDOR gave me the freedom to run anywhere.

It has been over a year and a half since I started running, and I have managed to run consistently. I completed 1157 kms of running and 5 (5 km) Runs in 2019 alone.

For 2020, I want to train myself for 10 km and my goal is also to train for HM in 2021. With this goal in mind, I registered for the virtual challenges of HDOR. The first challenge that I registered was 2020 km. I am not sure if I will be able to complete it, but if I can complete this challenge, then it would mean that I am a consistent runner and I can try for a Half Marathon in 2021 or maybe earlier. To achieve this goal, I also registered for the 5 km and 10 km annual challenges, which would allow me to complete my personal goal of 10 km marathons in 2020. I also registered for the resolution runs, which ensured that I prepare my mind for a positive start for 2020.

Overall, I have managed to bring my weight down by over 16 kgs in 2018-19. My goal in life is to inculcate running/walking as a daily habit like eating or maybe breathing. When I see posts from other runners it pushes me further towards my goal. I feel Virtual challenges and Marathons are just the stepping stone towards this larger goal.