When Tata Mumbai Marathon opened registration earlier than expected on 31 July, I wanted to participate in the Full Marathon next year.
To qualify, I needed a sub-2:45 Half Marathon, and with the registration window closing soon, there wasn't much time left to prepare either.
So I registered for the AFMC Pune Half Marathon which was on 2 August.
It was only my second Half Marathon, with no practice run beyond 5 km.
Not ideal.
The only thing clear to me was: missing 2:45 was not an option.
On race day, I finished in 2:40:56 — qualified.
After all, engineers have been surviving on last-minute submissions for years.
It made me realize that committing to a goal can push us to find possibilities we might otherwise overlook.
Sometimes, commitment can take you further than preparation alone.
