Pune based athletes - Priyanka Chavarkar and Swati Gadhave came on to a common platform when they represented themselves at the ‘Skechers Performance Los Angeles (LA) Marathon’, 2019. The recently concluded annual world event saw more than 24,000 participants from a record 66 nations. It was no mean feat as Swati, Chief Inspector with the Central Railways at Pune, clocked 42km in 3hr :33 min, with Priyanka coming close at 3hr: 43 min for the same distance. They share their journey and training, their association with ‘Skechers GoRun Club’, that helped to leverage themselves as first timers at LA and the iconic 33-year old event. Soumen Das, Senior Manager Marketing and Visual Merchandising at Skechers spoke on the association with the event and the company’s goal to build a crop of aspirational runners
Going beyond one’s physique, the mind has to be strong, especially for long-distance running. More than body, it is the mind”, said Priyanka Chavarkar, the youngest athlete of Skechers GoRun Club, Pune who represented Skechers India at the Los Angeles Marathon 2019.
For Swati Gadhave, balancing her work life while optimising her training schedule reached a new high with her coach at her GoRun club. “We do get tired with training, endurance and performing but, it is all about will power. Even at stages when we might have missed a training schedule, our coach motivates us saying that when one has practised all year round; there is nothing to worry about and that is what counts the most. At difficult stages of track performances, such positive reinforcements enhance the mind to push and complete our long-distance runs,” she said. “Skechers is helping new people coming into this sport and I have gained a lot too from my GoRun club”.
The Pune lady athletes have performed remarkably at the LA run and we all know that it is quite a tough route to run. A lot of good runners crash out mid-way, but they (Swati and Priyanka) not only performed well but also completed the race in a time that they had prepared themselves for. And, we are quite proud of them,” said, Soumen Das, Senior Manager - Marketing and Visual Merchandising at Skechers.
One advantage of these GoRun clubs is that registration and training are free of cost. Nobody needs to be a competitive runner to start with but, must aspire to achieve their passion for running and improvising. “At the heart of these running clubs are the coaches and their expertise is what has been attracting people to register with the clubs. The coaches are under the club’s payroll and as achievers themselves; their techniques and their experiences and achievement with running helps in motivating their trainees,” said Soumen. “The timings are scheduled in such a way that it does not hamper your work-life as most of the activities are conducted early in the mornings at the clubs,” he added.
“When we started our first GoRun club in Mumbai in 2016, we had around 40-50 runners coming every week and today we have seven clubs across six cities and around 800-2000 runners running with us”, said Soumen.
"The Skechers Performance LA Marathon brings me immense joy as running has always been a part of me – my source of happiness for the last 7-8 years. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Skechers GoRun Club and my coach there who encouraged me and now there is no going back”- Priyanka Chavarkar, youngest athlete of Skechers GoRun Club at the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon
Priyanka is a full-time athlete and her journey began when she participated in the U-14 category (state) much before she had any association with Skechers GoRun club. “I had stumbled upon GoRun’s Facebook page and their advertisement for the Pune run. My coach too encouraged me to register for the 10 km Skechers run at Pune. I have been training at the club with my current coach for the past 5-6 years. While my interest were into handball and volleyball at school; it was my then coach who advised me to run professionally. GoRun gave me the direction to achieve it,” said Priyanka.
“The Skechers Performance LA Marathon brings me immense joy as running has always been a part of me – my source of happiness for the last 7-8 years. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Skechers GoRun Club and my coach there who encouraged me and now there is no going back,” said Priyanka.
A sportsperson and a former hockey player, Swati started training since 2010 and has been attached to Skechers GoRun club for the past two years. The format and schedule of the club is what attracted Swati as she is a Central Railway employee. However, having made it to the national level, she has been given a year’s leave to train. She did grab the opportunity to win her personal laurel at the LA Marathon.
“Skechers’ club as it enables us to follow different formats of keeping fit that eventually assists us with our running goals. The programme incorporates Yoga and other formats of exercises all year round; besides endurance and other running-related activities”, adds Swati. With Skechers providing her with the kit, her travel expenses and other sundries that help her in her running, she has till now managed a good-work-life balance.
“I feel proud to have been selected as one of the runners to represent Skechers India. My 14-year long journey as a runner has been quite delightful. Skechers Performance LA Marathon was my first ever 42 km international run and the toughest one yet”, said Swati.
“I feel proud to have been selected as one of the runners to represent Skechers India. My 14-year-long journey as a runner has been quite delightful. Skechers Performance LA Marathon was my first ever 42km international run and the toughest one yet” -Swati Gadhave, Skechers GoRun Club athlete at the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon
Priyanka and Swati, both have mornings and evening schedules. While the mornings are more rigorous with training on speed endurance, running at least 10-20 km daily, and sometimes more with one weekly off-day. Evenings offer a relatively less-strenuous work out modules that throw in yoga, swimming, jogging, stretching and other strength training activities.
Priyanka’s day starts at around 4 am-4:30am; when she has to reach her training grounds at 6 am and completes her activities around 9 am. Her day then merges with college, followed by evening training and she calls it a day around 8.30 pm; to be ready for yet another day of rigour.
Since she is young, there are not many restrictions on her diet. “I have to keep the body light and so avoid rice at dinner. Less spicy or parboiled food, lots of fruits and liquids keeps me going. We are advised not to indulge in outside food or oil-based recipes”, Priyanka added.
Priyanka views that while everyone can aspire to be good runners; professional running has its own rigour and age has a limitation too. “However, at 20-25 years, one can aspire to be a professional runner but, will have to maintain health and fitness a lot more than when one is younger,” Priyanka adds.
For Swati, training can span and alternate between 30-35 km to 10 km per day, as per her specific schedule. While speed workouts and slow running for her is a must, she enjoys her GoRun schedule as it incorporates yoga and other stretching exercises regularly. Her day too starts at 6 am and post running and training activities, she manages her chores and work schedules. “My diet is a good mix of milk, Dalia (broken wheat porridge), even bread and omelettes on some days. I prepare my own juice post-workout. We are advised to go slow on tea and coffee and at times two biscuits with water are used to reinforce energy,” said Swati.
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
