“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart” goes the popular adage by writer John Heywood. And this particularly holds true for Anant Purav.
The 55-year-old marathoner completed 87-km Comrade Marathon in 11 hours 55 minutes for seasoned runners this may not be novel, but for Anant who is a heart patient, this was a dream come true. Despite being diagnosed with two blockages — 70 per cent and 75 per cent — in his heart in 2013, and undergoing spine surgery in 2015, the gritty man went ahead with rigorous practice sessions to make himself strong enough to run. He shares. “The doctors had advised me not to run at all, but for my final tests I ran 21 km on the treadmill for my stress test and the results were completely normal, the doctor then gave me a go ahead,” says Anant.
The Comrade Marathon in South Africa is one of the toughest feats to achieve, with a distance of 87 km to be completed in 12 hours. Anant who is a part of TopGear MIG, a group of marathon enthusiasts in Mumbai, practiced for four months. “Our rigorous schedule involved waking up at 5 am in the morning and running for two hours. Under the guidance of our coaches, we also went on an uphill climb to Lonavala and Silvassa. It involved extensive training sessions. In these four months I completed running 1,100 km as a part of my practice,” he adds.
Wasn’t he afraid of his health suffering a massive beating, we ask. “I had my spine surgery in 2015 and doctors had told me to avoid any kind of rigorous training or running at all. But one thing is for sure, I can’t rest or give up running, it is my passion. All I had to do my build up my stamina. I walked through the entire stretch of the marathon and was running only on the slopes. Though I’m a heart patient my pulse rates were normal throughout the run. I have been running for five years now and all the practice finally paid off,” he smiles.
The experience, of running for a Comrade Marathon was out of this world, it was like a festival reveals Anant, “I’m now officially a Comrade. The next time I participate, I will get two medals. I’m not being greedy but I definitely want to participate. There were over 20,000 runners from across the globe and it was a phenomenal experience.” Sharing the difficulty levels of the run he explains, “There are six cut-offs throughout the race. The race is difficult and if you don’t manage to complete those cut-offs in a stipulated period of time you are eliminated and they don’t let you complete the run.”
Anant who is a garment and accessories dealer finds time to fuel his passion out of his busy schedule and has a piece of advice for aspirants.
“It is important to have your me time no matter what profession you have, I make it a point to dedicate two hours in a day completely to myself and that’s how I manage to follow my passion,” he signs off.
