By Express News Service BENGALURU: A couple of months ago, actor and marathoner Milind Soman had pointed out that Bengaluru is leading the pack in the national-level running race, and figures in at least in the top 3 slots, along with Delhi and Mumbai. It’s no surprise then that the city has come to be known as a runners’ city, with several individuals taking to the streets and jumping into the bandwagon. Which is why coach at Jayanagar Jaguars Pramod Deshpande decided to help new runners ease into the sport. Through his books Master Your Run (English version) and Neevu Odabahudu (Kannada version), Deshpande has attempted to put things in perspective for beginners. “These days, people assume they can take to running just because they’ve seen or heard that their friend has. But it’s important to prepare for it,” he says. For the last six years, he has inducted thousands of non-runners to running, and many of these busy professionals have competed marathons and even ultra marathons. “It’s intriguing to see someone leading a sedentary life until their 30s or older, morph into an astute runner. Observing these ‘working athletes’ manage the balance between the demands of life and running training, has been a great learning for me,” he says, adding that the main hurdle for interested runners today is “lack of access to comprehensive information encompassing, benefits of running, dispelling myths surrounding running, various possibilities in running, and initial guidance on training etc. in the Indian context.” He goes on to add that while there’s information overload on the internet and good books by foreign authors, many can’t relate to this available information, which is sometimes advanced. “I thought if I can capture my observations and learnings from transformational journeys of the numerous JJs runners, it might help many aspiring runners. The reason I decided to go ahead with it in Kannada was because I feel that reading a book in one’s native language might be comfortable for many readers. A Kannada book, I feel, will reach more readers, who are trying to figure out how to join the running revolution,” he says. This book covers the journey of a non-runner to a pro-runner through various stages, including running as fitness activity, clearing myths on running; workouts, participating in the first event, event preparation, technical aspects of preparation, and becoming a focused runner. While the target audience are runners and stakeholders of the running journey, the 150-page book also has information for stakeholders such as nutritionists, masseurs or physiotherapists “wanting to provide services to the runners can get an overview, so that they tailor their services accordingly.” “But in no way is it an instruction manual,” he says.

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