RunAddicts- Local Heroes: Inspiration series [Profile 5: Deepak]

Today we are having one of the impressive RunAddicts members, Deepak. With always a smile on his face, he is available for RunAddicts either to volunteer or for a long run. Co-ordinating for the magnificent RunAddicts Malnad Ultra Tee to the more recent spectacular RideAddicts jersey, it is awesomeness overloaded for RunAddicts. Let me reveal an undisclosed information here, he is again at work…..

and wait for the surprise at the end of this post!!

Deepak, Welcome to RunAddicts- our Local Heroes: Inspiration series. Congrats on being selected as a Local hero for our RunAddicts Inspiration series. The stronger pillar of RunAddicts is the volunteering activities we carryout. I am glad we have you here.

Sai: Can you briefly introduce yourself?

Deepak (Deepu): I am a civil engineer and take up civil contract works for my own firm named Devise Engineering Pvt ltd. I stay in RR nagar with my parents and wife.

 Sai: I think you were active since your school days. How did it transform to running?

Deepu: Yes, I was always into sports from my school days. Took up running as I felt it is one of the easiest and economic ways to keep yourself active. The investment is very less but the returns are priceless.

Sai: Well, that is a good perspective to look at. How long have you been running and what are some of the running events you have participated?

Deepu: I started my running journey with a 10K in 2016. I have participated in Mumbai marathon, Bangalore marathon, Delhi Marathon, Trort and Malnad Ultra.

Sai: What are your 10K, HM and FM personal best timings?

Deepu: 10km – 50:14 min, HM – 1:59 min and FM – 4:43 min.

Sai: How do you train for an event; can you share a few insights?

Deepu: I always want to complete an event strongly irrespective of time. (Of course, within the cut off time)

My training for marathons usually is all about putting up weekly mileages of 40 to 50km. This does not mean running daily 8 to 10km. I usually plan to run 4 days a week, 6 to 8 km for 2 days and long runs for 2 days.

Sai: Your most memorable running event and what makes it so special about it?

Deepu: Undoubtedly, it must be Malnad Ultra as the stakes are simple: To complete 50km run in 9hrs. This event is all about Endurance. Nobody asks you about the finish time 😄.

It is either finished the race or did not finish (DNF). Any day, I would consider trails over concrete for the ultimate joy of running in nature.

Sai: How do you balance fitness, work, and personal life?

Deepu: Most of the times, fitness takes the back seat over the other two. Of course, it’s not easy, we will always have 100 reasons for skipping the fitness routine. And there’s always only 1 reason if you have to achieve something. Prioritizing is key. I choose my event and accordingly try to balance my work and personal life around it.

Sai: How has the RunAddicts group influenced you?

Deepu: RunAddicts’ has been a major force behind all my runs till date. I had never thought in my life that I would complete a 50km run (not even in my dreams).

There are so many people in this group to help you out and answer queries about running.

I would give all the credit to RunAddicts for whatever I am today. Without their support and motivation, I could have never done any of this.

Sai: How has it been volunteering for RunAddicts?

Deepu: Volunteering for RunAddicts is fun, everyone in the group support each other so much, it is like organising a family function.

Most of our volunteering work is fixed in the group like food and catering service is taken care by some, traffic management by some and many other things. Usually all roles will be same. There will be slight changes sometimes as per our core team requirement.

Sai: We are delighted with the RideAddicts jersey. How did the process start and what were the hurdles you faced?

Deepu: Gowtham and I had taken initiative to get the Different colour RunAddicts T-shirt for Malnad event. And most of them were very happy about the quality and colour of those T-shirts. This is where my first real initiative work started for RunAddicts. And since i started serious cycling only after lockdown restrictions was relaxed, Srini and Mohan wanted to have a RideAddicts jersey and asked me to take the initiative.

Did my first ever cycling event BRM 200 in November 2020. Seeing many cyclists wear customised jerseys with their group names, I too felt we need to have our own jersey.

Since I was new to cycling, took help of many people from our group about the colour combination, fit and mainly cost. Getting a normal T-shirt done is easy since we have a fixed design and cost wise also it is affordable.

Cycling is an expensive affair from your cycle, costume, and the event registrations.

Finalising the design was the difficult part and then getting it at the best cost another. We did too many Cycling apparels for our first time (2 types of jerseys, Bib shorts, Normal Shorts and 3/4th ) and co-ordinating this to the vendor was the most challenging job, since the manufacturing unit is in Mumbai everything had to happen via call or mail. As I said earlier since it’s a costly affair slight mistake from the manufacturer would have been a bigger headache for me. Somehow everything went well, and everyone are happy about it.

Sai: That is a lot of hard work behind the scenes, hats off to you and others involved in this. RunAddicts are fortunate to have many volunteers taking care of diverse activities.

Can you briefly share some of the RunAddicts activities during the pandemic?

Deepu: We supported in Food distribution, blood donation and safety kit distribution to BBMP workers. Most of us were frustrated during lockdown and since there was no running event soon after lockdown relaxation. Finding a motto to run regularly was becoming difficult. That is when our core RunAddicts team came up with Virtual runs. It was very good initiative to bring us back on the roads.

Sai: What are your running goals?

Deepu: I would love to complete Leh Ultra marathon someday.

Sai: What is your favourite running quote?

Deepu: There will come a time when I no longer can run. Today is not that day.

Sai: What is your advice for beginners?

Deepu: Don’t concentrate about pace to start with. Try to be regular for your runs, just go easy and enjoy your run and then, rest of the things will fall in place.

Thanks for your time, Deepak,it was a good discussion across several topics.

We have fitness enthusiasts across all walks of life. This a diverse group of people, contributing in their individual capacity for the betterment of society. It was fascinating interacting about the multifarious activities. Thanks for reminding all of us that, it is just not about running, but also making a tiny difference to others’ lives. I wish you all the best for your fitness journey as well as your volunteering activities.

PS: Now, the fascinating part. We are unveiling the brand new RunAddicts T shirt here.

We will provide you with the ordering related details soon.