The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, the year’s first big marquee marathon, will take place on Sunday, the 17th of January 2016.
Over 40,000 runners will participate this year, with elite and amateur athletes from around the world due to participate in the marathon, which caters to several demographics, among them senior citizens, those with physical or other disabilities, and is open to professionals and novice runners alike.
Fitness icon and actor John Abraham is the official ambassador of the marathon, and Sportskeeda caught up with him ahead of next week’s race.
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Excerpts from the interview:
You are considered a fitness icon by many. How did your association with the marathon begin?
It began about 11 years ago – I’ve been with the marathon from nearly its inception, and I’ve seen it grow each year.
Are you a marathoner yourself? If not, what forms of fitness do you enjoy?
I may be the ambassador of the marathon, but I don’t necessarily go out and run. Running is definitely a part of my lifestyle, though. I run 10-12km every day, but that’s not really much.. if I ran twice that much, I’d run a half marathon, and that would be a good distance. But to run that much, you really need to prepare for it. I should.
My own preferred form of exercise is a mix of functional, strength training and some solid cardio. It’s a well-rounded workout.
But people make a lot of mistakes when they work out, when they’re trying to get fit.
What are the biggest mistakes you think people make?
They make big errors while working out in general and while running. The biggest mistake is taking shortcuts - there are never any shortcuts to fitness, and people need to understand that. If we’re talking about running, and marathons, it’s so important to hydrate. That’s really key. It’s also important to have your essential carbs, you need energy to fuel your running, your movement.
And as for cheat days, I don’t have cheat days. Cheat days are for people who cheat on their fitness, on their health.
Eating healthy is really important too. I think everyone should try to eat organic, and I definitely do. Several Indian foods – bajra, jowar, nachni, all of them are really healthy, and introducing lots of vegetables, salads, into your diet is a great idea.
Do you have any advice for those looking to emulate you, and your ideals?
In a world where religion is becoming such a driving force, make fitness your religion. Work out so your clothes look good on you, and so you feel healthy. That’s the only way you can make a big difference to yourself, and look good, feel good, be good and healthy and make changes in your life.
