Come Sunday, and thousands of endurance racing enthusiasts will take to streets of Mumbai to participate in the 13th edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.
Not long ago, marathons were the sole domain of fitness fiends, but, in recent years, endurance running has evolved from a sport into a playground for high-flying executives from the corporate world. Race day offers a chance for them to shed their blazers and the comfort of their offices to hit the roads in the chill of a January morning.
Endurance events like the marathon have become a favourite for corporates to not only inculcate a fitness culture amongst their employees, but also from the point-of-view of CSR activity, branding as well as networking. With urban lifestyles leaving little time for fitness, organisations are encouraging their employees and clients to make fitness a part of their routine and assist them in the endeavour by providing world-class facilities like gyms and in-house trainers in the office, nutritionists and open space workout areas.
Organisations like Yes Bank, Nike, India Bulls and Nirmal Lifestyle are among those encouraging their employees to run in the upcoming marathon. While Nirmal Lifestyle is in process of beating its own record by having more than 600 employees and customers run in this year’s marathon, India Bulls has its own in-house project called “Get Fit Go”, to help their employees run the marathon. The programme encourages employees to set fitness goals and track progress along with them to incentives the entire drive
The programme has been of a great benefit for the organisation as well for the employees individually, feels Gagan Banga, MD and vice chairman, Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited. “By encouraging the employees to run the marathon, it has helped us to reduce calorie levels across the organisation. It directly helps in increasing the productivity of an individual which benefits the organisation. It has been helping our employees at personal level too. It has made their lives better. I have got thank you messages from families,” says the 40-year-old who will be running the full marathon this year.
Ashish Chandak, president, Yes Bank, echoes a similar sentiment. “If an employee is fit, it reflects in his work too. It has an effect on his family also. When you are fit it gives you confidence. Your sick leaves go out of the window,” says Chandak, who is an official pacer for the 2016 Mumbai Marathon.
Employees agree that these corporate initiatives have been beneficial. Munir Kulavoor, who is part of the Nirmal Lifestyle marathon project, says, “Earlier I used to run individually, but after joining this initiative, I saw everyone talking about fitness across the organisation and there was lot of enthusiasm regarding the marathon. It got me hooked. There is a proper structure to the programme. We have trainers, nutritionists, and training — that too during weekdays,” says the 36-year-old, who also participated in the New York Marathon in 2015. “Participating in the marathon changes your personality. It helps increase your patience and endurance,” adds Munir.
Gagan Banga feels preparing for the marathon helps in running a business as well. “Running a marathon is similar to running a business,” he says. “Both need discipline, insight and planning. One has to be well prepared. Like in a (full) marathon you can plan till the 35th km, but one cannot plan for what comes after that when the body starts to fail. It’s the same with business. You can plan for the short-term but what lies ahead in the long-term is uncertain. It is the momentum you gained in the short-term that carries you forward. It is your well preparedness that helps you going ahead.”
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