Team Motiv8 athlete Bhagwan Patil finished his maiden Comrades run in style, completing the 90K run in 10h55m.

Speaking about the training, he said:

“My major concern was testing what type of nutrition and hydration suits me pre and post workouts, especially long runs. I felt confident about completing the runs, but keeping myself properly hydrated and energized was an issue. All of my fellow team mates were consuming gels but I feel bloated with them so I decided to avoid gels. I did all my long runs and the actual race without any solid food. On race day, I had water, enerzal, 4 eclairs, 1 Kit-Kat, oranges offered on route and salt tablets.”

Commenting about race day, he said:

“As stated by coach and decided by my running partner Amol Joshi, we maintained a pace for a sub-11 finish right from the start. We were able to keep that pace comfortably to start with. During the second and third cut-offs, our pace dropped due to climbs. Amol wanted to push it, but I was reluctant because I wanted to conserve energy till 65K.

Generally, I prefer a strong finish for races. I keep my best for the last 10K of every race.  While Amol likes to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race. Due to these different strategies, I think we wasted a few minutes during the race. Post 70K, we split and went with our individual pacing as planned, but I am happy that both of us eventually completed in sub 11.

Second challenge was adapting to the frequent changes in climate conditions. Initially it was cold, later it got hot in the second half, then it got pleasant for some time, and post the finish it started raining. It was a bit difficult to adapt to these changes as we had most of our long runs at nights and early mornings.”

When asked how he kept himself himself motivated during the grueling training phase, he said:

“I kept on recalling all the sacrifices made by my family, friends; all the hard work I am putting continuously, all the support and inputs given my my fellow Team Motiv8 runners and all the prayers offered to me by my near and dear ones.

Most importantly, I have committed myself that I will finish the race and I can’t let myself nor anybody else down. I have never left any race unfinished. On race day, when the locals were cheering India-India at every cross, that also kept me motivated throughout the run. My mantra is ‘train hard; race easy’ ”

After crossing the finish line, Bhagwan had this to say:

“It was an emotional moment for me and Amol. Sub 11 was something we had planned and we did it! It was the greatest personal achievement for me and I felt so proud of myself for having completed it. I have made each one proud – my family, friends, my teammates and my coach.

I feel it is every Indian’s dream at some in their lives to represent our country and I got a chance to live that dream. Thats why I feel this is a dream come true.

Finally, I felt I had tested my limits, overcame all hurdles, and feeling condiment for the next challenge”