Interview with Shyamal Vallabhjee: We need to raise the bar higher and not celebrate mediocrity to succeed

Shayamal Vallabhjee majored with honors in Exercise Science and Sports Science and in considered amongst South Africa’s finest strength and mental trainers. He spent 2 years (2006-2008) as the strength and conditioning coach for the South African Davis Cup Team and later with the Indian Davis Cup team. Ahead of the AirTel Delhi Half Marathon, Sportskeeda caught up with the PUMA athlete to discuss the nitty-gritty’s of running and why are Indian athletes lacking behind.

How do athletes start their preparation for a marathon?

Shyamal: This is a six month progress. For a half marathon runner, six to 12 weeks preparation is at least needed. The average runner needs 3-4 months of training to be able to complete a half marathon. He will start on with running 20kms a week, and later build that upto 40-45 kms a week. Apart from that the regular sprint training is required which is a part of the building up process.

So does speed matter in a marathon?

Shyamal: Speed matters. At least 60% of the running is done at race pace. Race pace is the minutes per kilometer running that we do in a marathon. How you increase speed is done through prper training. In physiological terms, to get faster you need to train faster. Fast training needs to be mixed with proper training and diet.

What sort of a diet should a marathon runner have?

Shyamal: The diet varies. Once you become a runner the diet changes. You need to eat a balanced diet, that is the secret. You need to start eating clean. To become a good runner one needs to eat and sleep well. Less of fats, and there should not be excess of anythings. Everything should be in equal quantit.

Differences between Indian and foreign athletes?

Shyamal: I think the differences aren’t really physical, it is the work ethic. In India we practice by playing sports a lot, in South Africa we spend a lot more time outside the ground. The ability to practice is a privelage one needs to earn. There they focus more on the diet, running, physical training rather than picking up the equipments and starting to practice on the nets.

Having worked with the likes of Paes and Bhupati, what changes did you bring about in their lifestyle?

Shyamal: I started working with them in the backend of their career, so it was a bit difficult to bring a complete overhaul to their life style. I started to bring in small changes, because I was not in a position to change their entire regime. They were playing for 15 years already and were multiple grand slam winners so I was not going to change their formula. I brought more discipline to their diet, and the art of recovery, that allowed them to heal more quickly from injuries.

Q: How can a runner avoid injuries?

Shyamal: Running related injuries are chronic injuries. 90% of injuries are due to overload in the training. If you follow the 10% rule, which is increasing the mileage by 10% weekly, you will never get injured. Best way to prevent injuries is to look at training as a wholistic lifestyle change- eating well, sleeping well.

Shyamal on why India is lacking behind

Why don’t the Indian athletes don’t do well in the Olympics?

Shyamal: The difference in India is that we live in a bubble. We put so much emphasis on becoming a national champion, that we start celebrating it so big if he achieves it. But that national champions is lightyears away from the international stage. There is no push for the second goal. We reward mediocrity in this country. In other countries there are athletes who are top 10 in their field and people don’t know them, they struggle to get recognition. We are a nation that rewards mediocrity. The bar needs to be raised hire.

Why is it that the Africans do really well in this field?

Shyamal: It’s not the entire Africa but a part of it. There are a lot of factors involved like accessibility, socio economic. Kenyan’s win a lot of long distance because they are trained really well. The middle distance runners are usually from Ethiopia. The sprinters are African-Americans. These are not all African’s. There are genetic traits that seperates them. There is alot that goes into this. Nothing happens by mistake, there is a lot of practice and proper training involved. We need to achieve that to reach a level in athletics.

How can training be improved in India?

Shyamal: How will you produce a good runner if you don’t have proper facilities? There is hunger needed to succeed. We are very disproportionate with the facilites that we have availaible. For a runner, there is not much about the facilites but the culture. There are not enough parks, the climate is not the best, these things play an important role. We do not have a benchmark hero, that is why we are not producing the best athletes.