Home Fitness Mental Strength and Long Distance Running – Kiran Giri

Mental Strength and Long Distance Running – Kiran Giri

by Tanya Agarwal

Who in the world of running is Kiran Giri?

To know the runner side of Kiran better, here are some of his achievements in running.

  • Comrades Marathon Up-Run 2015 (87KM) : 9:49:48
  • Comrades Marathon Down-Run 2016 (89KM) : 8:57:44
  • More than 14 Full Marathons/ 10 Half Marathons / 5 Ultras
  • Best Full Marathon Timing : 3:39:40 (SCMM 2016)
  • Best Ultra Marathon Timing : 4:52 (50 K Kolhapur Ultra)
  • Best Half Marathon : 1:41:56 (IDBI Half)
  • Most Challenging Race : Mirik to Darjeeling (64KM, 840Mtr to 2290Mtr in 9 Hours)

Why Kiran runs?

Like Bruce Fordyce said “running can inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and it brings out the best in all of us.” For me, running gives me a chance to push myself beyond limits, that I never gave up when all else would fail, that I pushed beyond limits when there was nothing left in me, that I crossed the finish line and got my confidence.

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Kiran sent me his write up a while back, and reading his running resume was good enough for me to realise that having moved from strength to strength, he is a potential running educator. And true to the skin of a runner, he does have a lot to share with the running community.

Prior to running, he was into heavy weight lifting and amateur body building for 7 Years. Currently he is a mentor to runners preparing for Comrades and is a motivational speaker.

He works for a company called DellEMC as a Manager SE (Systems Engineer). He is also a musician and has his own music band called Fungus. The band creates its own music and plays wherever and whenever they can. (How absolutely amazing!)

You can reach out to him at [email protected]

So here we have an article by Kiran for every runner out there !

Mental Strength – What does it mean to a runner ?

The most important factor that takes you to the finish line in any long-distance race is the mental strength. Mental strength is refined by an indomitable willpower when you pass through failures, uncertainties and doubts and it is built over a period, with practice and patience. Mental strength is in some ways related to other factors such as physical strength, willpower, never give up attitude and pain threshold.

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But one consistent factor that you see in runners with a very high mental strength is their grounded nature and positive attitude. These are the class of runners who have built this character with consistency, discipline, courage and patience. This attitude applies in their personal and professional lives too. There are many drills and ways to build the mental strength, and many tips available in books and internet, but not all of them will teach you how to apply it during your run and not all are practical enough to follow. You must find your own peace, your own rhythm and your own ways of communicating to yourself during your run. You must find your own reason why you must cross the finish line while there are thousands of reasons why you can’t.

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Below are few important nuances behind the mental strength:

Be Aware :

It is very important to know your strength and weakness across four important pillars of your own being, which is the your body, your mind, your emotions and your aspirations. Your body has a finite capability and each and every person is different. So it’s important to know what your capability is. Your mind is playing the trick, all the time. Sometimes it is guiding you right, sometimes it’s misleading you. But you need to be aware that nothing comes between your willpower and your goal. Emotions are always playing with us and it is mostly related to what your heart says. But emotions have two shades, positive and negative- so be aware of them.

As long as you are not deviating yourself from your Aspirations, you are doing good. To aspire is to go beyond the ability to plan your goal. It is to wish something so deep that without achieving it, your life is still incomplete.

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Be Positive :

Being positive is proactive planning, it is achieving even before you achieve, it is winning even before you win, it is crossing that finish line even before you do. Being positive is not just about believing that you can achieve, it is being completely aware of the fact that nothing can come between you and your goal. Eliud Kipchoge was asked about attempting the marathon world record at the London Marathon 2018, his reply was “I will run a beautiful race”. This positive thinking led to him winning the London Marathon and this is only a known example of the power of positive thinking.

Believe in yourself:

Most of the time we are neither aware nor positive about our own capabilities. Our body is capable of extraordinary things as long as our mind believes and our heart desires. Believing in yourself is the most important pillar to doing extraordinary things. There are many things in life we give up because we believe it can’t happen, can’t be achieved or can’t be sustained. Everything in this world is achieved by some positive, out of the box and creative minds. Everything in life that you have achieved is also a result of believing that it is possible.

So learn to be aware about yourself, believe in yourself and be positive, you will find your peace. Somewhere along the way, during the run, you will meet someone whom you love and admire the most and that will be yourself.

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Author

  • Tanya Agarwal
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    Welcome to Wellthyfit.com! Wellthyfit is my ‘writing venture’ on health and wellness and a constant reminder that health is our only everlasting wealth! Who am I - you can read here. But at the core of it all, I’m a mom who loves to run!

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3 comments

Sudhir October 27, 2018 - 9:04 pm

He is good . But I am sorry to say he was organiser for Pune triathlon 2017. And I am yet to receive my first triathlon medal even after mailing and messaging him . So I have no respect for this guy.
What would be your reaction if you run your first full marathon and not receive a medal.
I am disappointed that wellthyfit and gold gym promote such guys .

Reply
Tanya Agarwal October 29, 2018 - 10:06 am

Sorry to hear what happened with you. But I have covered him as a runner and not an event organiser. Please sort out your personal differences with him, separately.

Reply
Vince Borja May 13, 2020 - 7:07 pm

Hi
Greetings of the day!
This is such an amazing article. You have shared very useful tips. I like it very much.

Reply

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