When Half Marathons And Full Marathons Did Nothing For Her She Ran All The Way From Delhi To Jaipur To Test Her Abilities – Meenal Sukhija Our Women’s Day Feature
Prerna Sinha
Her entry into running was by chance when in 2013 a friend enrolled her for a half marathon. There has been no looking back since then she ran her full marathon the very next year in 2014 but didn’t find it challenging enough. Even before she knew it she had set out to challenge herself in the 50km terrain of the Bhatti mines in Delhi, 2014 and had a podium finish. She has been running ever since. Today Meenal has done the ‘Great India Run’, all the way from Delhi to Jaipur along with elite runners like Milind Soman, Arun Bhardwaj to name a few. Last year she ran the Antartica marathon and more such tough ultra runs. Meenal Sukhija is truly an inspiration and we are so proud to bring her story this International women’s week.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a chartered accountant by profession, a runner by choice and a wife by God’s design.
What made you take up running?
Running was once merely a cardiovascular activity confined to the four walls of a Gym. The cusp was when a friend registered me for the Airtel Delhi Marathon 2013 and an unwillingly me ended up running a distance many times over my earlier best. The love affair with running started then! Running solo in the wilderness made me discover the real me. It uncaged me! It became such a stress buster, an anti-depressant and a source of energy that I haven’t looked back since.
Has pursuing running every conflicted with your work or has it helped you in your work life?
I may have been a career-obsessed woman in the early phase of my work-life but chose to sacrifice it all to pursue my passion. I chose to be associated with my Father’s CA firm, get paid far less than all my peers for that sheer joy but also chose not to sacrifice my explorative soul.
What has been the craziest thing you have ever done?
With a heart filled with a desire to imbibe the vibrant colours, and festivities of a Rajasthani wedding and unfortunately none in sight during my recent solo trip to outskirts of Jodhpur, I decided to gate crash at the first opportunity of a social gathering. The gathering turned out to be a premature retirement party of a BSNL employee! Photo-op transformed into a warm welcome by the locals and soon was served with many helpings of Dal, Baati, and the sinful Choorma. Crazy and heart warming experience for a lifetime it was.
A run that you are proud of?
We live in a society which takes pride in what our defence forces do for the nation. Every breath of free air that we take owes to the endless sacrifices of umpteen unknown soldiers. When my running friend Commodore Joginder Chandana (whom we loving call JS) came up with this idea of running a Half Marathon each day from the Navy day (4th December 2016) to the Army day (15 January 2017), it was a moment of showing gratitude! Accepting and executing it wasn’t easy though but wasn’t defending our borders any easier, so we thought! So, we took the plunge. We just had to run at least a 21.097km each day of these 43 days wherever and in whatever condition we were in.
The run was flagged by none other than the Navy chief at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. The initial days in Delhi were a breeze for me with the benign conditions this time of the year. And then came my annual fortnight visit for detox at the Jindal Naturecare Institute at Bangalore in December/January. The challenge really began for me as for the next fortnight, my daily calorie intake was being monitored, regulated and made minimalistic by a team of Doctors. Those were, no doubt, the toughest days of the running challenge. And I sailed through the tough times.
On the last day of the run, we were honored to have met all the three chiefs of the defense forces, again at the tomb of the unknown soldier, popularly known as Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. It felt so proud!
While we cherish those moments at the India Gate, the times under the sun each day were memorable too, and even more so was the cause for which we stood for!
Is there anyone who inspires you?
A constant source of encouragement, undoubtedly, has been my husband Sachin who guides, supports and motivates in my thick and thin. And when he’s down and out, I am by his side.
What are top 3 things on your bucket list ?
a) First and foremost is completing runs in each of the seven continents, out of which the arduous one in Antartica I’ve already done last March.
b) Undergoing a mountaineering course with hubby dear this October, and
c)Run in Gobi desert.
Do you have any tips for women who want to pursue running or make that shift from 10kms, half marathons to ultra runs?
For all my budding female runners, take small steps. For those who haven’t ever run and would want to, I would suggest they start with an occasional walk, then migrate to a walk-run and then finally graduate to running. Bide your time and don’t be in a hurry to expect results too soon. The more persistent you are in running, the better you become. Then it’s time to choose your forte. Some may like the Half Marathons, some the Fulls, and some like me end up surrendering to the lure of the Ultras.
Being an Ultra Marathon fanatic that I am, I would love to say that Ultras maybe seem a lot slower, take a lot longer but then the benefits starts to speak. You go easy on your training runs, so much so that even a back to back long run doesn’t take a toll. Thus, while going that extra mile in your training, you discover more. Where else in this performance-oriented maddening world, can you afford to sit by a dhabha sipping freshly-made ‘Chhaas‘/ Buttermilk, or by a gas station gossiping, all in midst of your run! You discover that you have left your old self-way behind, you discover what challenges you, you make new friends, you discover the camaraderie between your friends, you discover and cherish your one life.
I am headed to get my running shoes out from the cupboard after this inspiring chat from Meenal. She truly is an inspiration to all women and even who want to take that leap from running marathons to ultramarathons, but in general, she is amazing.
