New Delhi: Three generations to participate in maximum Procam running events at same time The three generations to participate in maximum Procam Slam running events at the same time is 4 and this record was set by R. Darshan Jain (born on July 23, 1968) from Bangalore, Karnataka, along with his father and son, as confirmed on March 28, 2020. The running events were TCS World 10k 2019, Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2019, Tata Steel Kolkata 25k 2019 and Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 42.2k, organized in the calendar year April 2019-March 2020.
Running is all about perseverance, dedication, and a healthy dose of motivation. Running to complete the Procam slam was such an unforgettable experience – it was exciting but daunting, incredible but challenging, and most importantly, it was life-changing. We are not only talking about the races itself, but also the journey. Apart from my granddad inspiring my father, we all were equally inspired by the many known and unknown faces that always greet and cheer us every day during our workouts.
All three of us have been continuously training under the guidance of Coach Pramod, for over five years. It took us one whole year to complete all the events that were part of the slam. What we have learned is that not only do you train your body, but you train your mind as well. It’s true when they say that part of running is in the mind too. We don’t realize how strong our bodies are and if the mind believes it, the body will achieve it. We made our training our priority throughout the year. Staying dedicated to all our long runs, tempo runs, intervals, and foam rolling obligations was not easy. But we did it and it paid off too.
Having so many family members, friends wishing us luck, even people we had never met before out on sidewalks and roads, cheering, telling grand-dad how strong he looked, it was nothing short of amazing. The last two kilometers were tough as the sun was out and Mumbai heat was more, for grand-dad, but spotting down to see Ambika, who had come all the way from Bengaluru to Mumbai only to cheer him, helped him finish stronger.
As my granddad put it “I was so overwhelmed when I spotted my son, grandson, Ambika on the last turn, they were cheering for me just before the finish line and my family was all there, waiting for me. That moment towards the finish line at the Tata Mumbai Marathon after running for six hours is what I will cherish forever.Nutrition and quality food play a critical role in recovery too. Shree, my mother, fully always focused on quality recovery and nutrition.
We had to ensure that all three of us remained injury-free during the entire training period. Our training wasn’t a breeze though – those early mornings on the weekends to get those long runs in, back to work and college after weekday runs. Even though it was very difficult and taxing, we were sure that no matter how hard it was, we always felt good and accomplished after every run. Our legs and body would always feel sore. Thank God for those foam rollers and ice baths that eased the pain. All our near and dear ones have been celebrating our slam completion. This new record has been a cherry on the cake. They always say how it’s amazing that we all have been inspiring people by just trying to live a better, more active life together.
We are very humbled by being the chosen ones for this record. It is a record that will motivate many runners to train well and attempt something similar with family members. It’s special because each of our family members played a defining role, including our pet Simba. So, in a way, this record belongs to each one of us.
