TWO CITY WOMEN SHOW THEIR METTLE – Ahmedabad Mirror
TWO CITY WOMEN SHOW THEIR METTLE Ahmedabad Mirror
Delnaz Medora and Sachi Patel show how despite taking up the highly demanding marathon run in their late thirties, they have with their grit and persistence gone on to complete the World Marathon Major in the US
Two women who took up marathon running in their late 30s have made the city proud by completing the TCS New York City Marathon held recently. Sachi Patel (42) and Delnaz Medora (39) who took up marathon training a couple of years ago say that running has given a new meaning to their life. Ambawadi resident Sachi who has completed both the New York and Chicago marathons aims to complete the remaining four of the six World Marathon Majors (WMM) – Berlin, Boston, London and Tokyo.
“I have finished two full marathons. One in Chicago in October 2018 and other one in New York on November 3. I crossed the finish line with a timing of 5:35:13 in Chicago, while I clocked 6:20:15 in New York,” Sachi who is in the business of selling leather bags and wedding gifts, said.
About her diet and training, she says, “There has to be carbohydrate loading, lots of protein and supplements in the diet. It was my friend who pushed and inspired me to run. The first time I ran 10 km. But it never crossed my mind to run a full marathon. Under coach Namrata Sheth, I started strength training in the gym thrice a week and started running four days a week leading to 70 km.”
Delnaz Medora
Sachi, who first ran a half-marathon in Mumbai in 2017, says the weather in the city is harsh for runners. It can cause nausea and dizziness if one is not properly hydrated.
She is grateful to her family for being supportive of her endeavour. Sachi, who believes age is never a constraint, credits getting up early and sleeping early to maintain her schedule. “I picked up running just three years ago. It has given me a lot of positivity, confidence and satisfaction in life.”
Delnaz was always into sports, running and jogging. The Bodakdev resident began marathon training five years ago, running half marathons till 2018. Thereafter she decided to run full marathon and started preparing for it. She completed TCS New York City Marathon with timing of 5:29:30.
Apart from aiming for WMM, she intends to go for Comrades marathon, an ultra-marathon of 89 km in Johannesburg.
Sachi Patel
Delnaz states, “It was my friend who suggested marathon training and I realised that it is a structural way of training. I realised running not only makes one physically fitter but also mentally and emotionally fit.”
She has run four half-marathons each in Bombay and Ahmedabad, besides halfmarathons in Nasik, Satara and Abu Trail. She ran her first full marathon at Tata Mumbai Marathon in January 2019.
Delnaz, who is a travel consultant and runs a travel agency, has the target to run two full mara-thons and four half marathons in a year. “Running improves focus and will power. It is a mental game. One can run half marathon with a body, but a full marathon can only be run with a body and mind aligned,” she said.
Delnaz who was also coached by Namrata Sheth believes, “I am a big inspiration for my children. I couldn’t have made this possible without the supportive family. I go on long weekends for training and I sometimes get injuries, have cramps, but I never felt ever like giving up.”
On balancing her personal, professional and passion, she feels it is all about prioritising. It is not easy to balance. She runs around 60 km in a week (in four days) when the marathon is near and goes to gym for three days.