Running and Learning | Balaji S | TEDxJSB
[Music] afternoon friends I'm Balaji I'm a longdistance runner and also a speaker but I speak only during my long runs in fact I don't mind calling myself a motivational speaker because everyone who runs with me runs away from me whenever I speak during the runs having said that you know this is a new challenge for me I'm asked to stand still and talk to an audience who are firmly harnessed in their seats I have to admit that suddenly running a marathon looks a lot easier okay here I am as you talk about running I wondered whom to look up to so I looked up to one of my Inspirations in running well not Nelson Mandela he's definitely inspiration in various other aspects this is a gentleman by name Bruce fores he's a legend in South Africa having run the comage marathon over 45 times and winning it eight times he was once asked to give a talk on running and this is what he has to say about running all that you need to run is good heart lungs legs and no brain cells this should come as a surprise to many you know we all associate learning with something to do with their intellect our intelligence and here is a season Runner who tells that it has nothing to do with any of them you just need to have no brain cells so which effectively means that we all need to be like a jellyfish of course it doesn't have even hard lungs which I learn later so is there anything possible a learning possible that you don't need to use your brain cells actually I have a confession to make it is true that running doesn't require any brain cells it's a very simple act of putting one foot after another some do it for a longer time some do it faster ultimately everyone does it very very simple it's just one foot after another so what's a big deal about running you take up Sports there's lot to learn from it there's a skill there is a hand to eye contact there are wonderful body movements and sometimes even beyond that Billy Jean King more than a sportsman she's known to this generation as someone who stood up for women tennis she stood up for LGBT rights and she Wes everything that she learned about her value system in sports she owes her personal development through sports but running is it even a sport you know you don't need to use any skill set everybody is a runner in my opinion well to play any sport running is critical whether you a cricket player whether you are a footballer or a tennis player you need to run you need to run for something which brings me to what I want to share with you running is not about what to learn but it's more about how to learn just like how being a good runner helps you to be a good Sportsman it the same values and the culture that you learn from running that gets applied to different aspects of life I want to dwell about a few of those that I learned over my last 15 to 16 years of running so the first aspect I would like to discuss it's setting an aspiration we all come from a society where most of our aspirations goals at a younger age are set by the social norms you had to go to the school followed by a college followed by a work and in the work the progress is measured by whatever the work dictates us we have never been taught how to set an aspiration for ourselves let me admit I did not take up to running because I really wanted to be a runner I wanted to be a sportsman I wanted to play cricket I was complete rubbish in that I wanted to play football I was put as a goalkeeper and I think I learned dance more than actual goalkeeping I took up to running because I didn't I didn't find myself fit to play any sport that's how I started running once I started running I started setting aspirations for myself initially it was just an activity to help me to improve my breathing and thus control asthma later it became a way to discipline myself and after I learned that you know I can cover some distances I slowly started moving to marathons ultramarathons and so on this simple aspect you know how you set aspirations for yourselves is one of the very significant learning that I could pick up from running Dennis bur Camp a legend of football had this beautiful thing to say we all aim for Perfection and that's one thing that I always liked in running you climb a mountain you see the next Mountain you run a marathon today you just don't stop the next day the first thought is okay what is next what is the next place I want to go and run sometimes the next mountain is going to be the very next day running actually it's that's how the aspirations are sudden and running the next aspect I want to talk about is persistence and determination these two qualities can never be taught in any textbook or it cannot be taught by any coach although it can be facilitated by some of the coaches ultimately persistence and determination is something that we pick up from ourselves I want to share this simple one life incident that brought me this wonderful wisdom it was in 2006 I wanted to run the Mumbai Marathon honestly at that time I couldn't really call myself a runner I used to run 5 km 10 km but a marathon is way out of my reach those days I still went ahead registered myself those are the days when Mumbai Marathon started at 8:00 in the morning under the scorching heat of Mumbai somewhere around the 13th or 14th kilometer I realized I can't run anymore it was at this stage I thought okay let's throw the towel and go back home we know we are not fit for running anymore I asked myself did I come all the way to just quit at this stage okay if I walk all the way back I'll still be a laughing stock doesn't matter I have come to complete the distance of 42.195 KM and let me do it walk through the streets of Mumbai in the hot sun the vehicle movements are already started there was dust there was pollution there was no water station I had to buy water here and there but I persisted with it I managed to go all the way to the finish line but luckily there was one volunteer who was packing all the medals he he unpacked the box and then he picked up a medal and gave me I was so grateful for him for that medal in the movie Chariots of Fire Eric little the protagonist would be asked where does he see the strength to finish he has this one line to say you find your strength only from within persistence determination to do anything and any any any activity ultimately relies on the individual whether it is a professional work whether a personal assignment you need to find the persistence and determination only from then and I'm grateful to running for teaching me that quality having failed miserably in 2006 in running the Mumbai marathon in 2009 I managed to run the entire Marathon under 5 hours finishing in 4 hours 53 minutes so what happened in between 2006 and 2009 that brings me to third aspect the group support from the group has been very very critical for me in improving my own running sometimes it's not just about running it goes beyond running the kind of guidance support well as you would see in the picture I started running with full pants and it was the group which taught me saying that hey you don't need to really worry about yourself start running in shots it could be trivial one but it helps significantly the group has been always been a major source of strength for me both in my running and the subsequent activities that I've undertaken and run be it organizing running events training people for running events various social work that I undertaken around running the group has always been a real Pillar of Strength and I'm very happy to say even today when I'm giving a talk here I have my friends from my group sitting in the audience who are a major source of strength for me as Helen K beautifully says this together we can do so much one of the output that most of you in qu seen is the kutur marathon which I'm proud to be associated with a a group of friends they've all been a source of strength for me and the kind of activities that we could achieve has been unparalleled each one of them are highly self- motivated and they keep the motivation levels very high of the group so you have a aspiration you persist with it you have a group to support which is a perfect ingredient of success but you miss one aspect of it that's humility no matter what you do no matter however High you go you got to keep yourself grounded and running has certainly taught me how to stay grounded early this year I went ahead and ran the famous two oceans marathon in South Africa I don't know 56 km run which we have to finish under 7 hours this was something I thought I can take it for granted here was I who finished a run that's occasionally called the Big Brother of the two oceans there is a comrades Marathon I have finished the race Under 12 hours so this I thought should be a cakewalk for me somewhere in the sixth hour I started cramping and I couldn't move any further it was a humbling moment and I realized yes there is something that we still can't do it it was a different story that I managed to again scrap back uh past the timing limit within a minute to spare but it was a truly humbling moment whether it's a 5 km or a 50 km or even a 500 km you got to respect the distance you got to respect the terrain we need to learn to respect the external factors that often support us or often present a challenge to us and stay humble so that brings to me to a close about the four major aspects that I feel I've learned through running it helps me to set aspirations it helped me to persist with my aspirations and be determined to achieve them I have wonderful group and wonderful bunch of friends to support me in all these aspirations and running always keeps me grounded and humble and to look for more well is it all enough today morning when I was hearing a talk by sonel I realized running is not just a task I undertake it's also a privilege that I have the fact that I'm able to run I'm able to run comfortably is a privilege that I have the name the fame the financial success of course I didn't have much through running whatever it may be you may achieve through running or through any activity in life it all counts for nothing unless you build a single most ingredient that's your character reputation comes and goes character is something that stays with you I often credit running to helping me to build my character this is not something I say I have learned but this is something I still continue to learn and I will continue to learn this month marks the 50th anniversary of one of the iconic Moment In The World of Sports it was a 1968 Olympics Tommy Smith Peter Norman John Carlos finished the top three positions of the 200 met race Tommy Smith and John carers decided to use the opportunity to convey something different they did not want to cherish the success they did not want to enjoy the celebration get a multi-million contract endorsements no they use the opportunity to demonstrate the prevailing injustice among the racial sections of of us they come from the underprivileged blacks and it was at that time when United States was undergoing a lot of discrimination and there was lot of violence against the blacks they decided to use the opportunity to protect against all this Injustice they were banned from International Sports they lost The credibility of United States Athletics Association which means they could never participate in any race again they were condemned they were banned from any other any sporting activity any part of the world including Peter Norman who St alongside with them although he didn't protest directly Australian Athletics Federation decided to ban him for standing up with these two guys but somewhere in them they really made the statement they stood up for what they believe in despite what they could have achieved incidentally it's a very emotional moment when you realize in 2006 when Peter Norman expired Tommy Smith and John caros traveled all the way from United States to carry his to carry the coffin all the way to the grave in the recent interview John caros said said it beautifully what it means to protest I would just like to read it out for you in life there is the beginning and the end the beginning don't matter and the end don't matter all that matters is what you do in between whether you are prepared to do what it makes to change there has to be physical and material sacrifice when all the dust settles the greatest reward is to know that you did your job when you were here on the planet running has given me so much many times I'm proud to say it has often taught me what I can be and what I ought to be having said that all it all of them counts for nothing if ultimately I don't build my character if there a single most lesson that I would like to learn from running and constantly learn from running is how I can build my character on the run and transform it of the Run having said that I like to end my speech by saying I want to see each one of you on the Run sooner or later thank you [Music]