Shilpa Narayan is a truly inspirational running success story. She is someone who ran her first marathon just so that she could tick it off from her “list of things to do in life”. Winning the midnight marathon just two years after starting to run is nothing short of a we-inspiring.

We interviewed this fun and cheerful runner after her win and this is what she had to say:

1. How and when did you start running?
I have always been interested in running. Since childhood, I have taken part in a lot of track and field events in school. At some point I wanted to make a career out of it and be like P.T.Usha. I was a big fan of her’s as a kid.
Long distance running happened only recently, about 2 years back and I was immediately hooked. My first big marathon was the Bangalore International Marathon on September 16, 2006.

2. How many marathons/half marathons have you run?
2 full marathons and 2 half marathons.

3. Personal bests:
Half marathon: 1h 49min
Full marathon: 4h 15min

4. My favorite running shoes:
Reebok

5. When did you start running?
In 2006, I ran my first marathon for the heck of it. My training till two weeks before the event was running 3kms everyday on the treadmill. 42 kms was unimaginable but I ran nevertheless. It took me over 5 hours to finish the race.

6. Your toughest marathon:
Bangalore International Marathon 2006

7. If I wasn’t running, I’d most likely be:
I would definitely have taken up a sport. I also enjoy long distance cycling.

8. My favorite running route:
Embassy Golf Links



9. Favorite running quote:

'Pain is temporary, quitting is forever'


10. Advice to runners out there:
Running has become a part of me. So much so that I don’t even think about it now. I just get up and run. So I don’t have any real advice to give.

11. If there’s one thing I’d change about running, it would be:
I would like a more concentrated training schedule to improve my time. My training routine has become stagnant and I need to take it to the next level to better my current time of 4h 15mins.

12. When I m running uphill on my last lap, my brain is saying:
I don’t want to be sounding arrogant here, but I consider running uphill as one of my advantages as I am lightly built. So what’s running through my head is “This is where I beat everyone else”.

13. What do I like listening to while I run?
I do not listen to music when I run. I don’t want to be bothered with adjusting my earphones or changing tracks at that point. Although after 15-25kms running gets boring, I wish there was a better way to listen to music while running.

14. Did you expect to win the midnight marathon?
My husband and I were actually training for the half marathon. We registered for the full marathon at the last minute and only after running 30kms did I realize I actually had a chance to win. I certainly did not expect to win before the race started.