2018- Looking back at the year which was full of running around

Hello Friends,


Back again after a year of blogging break. Hope you all have had a great 2018. Firstly, wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2019. May all your wishes come true. Let the speed and good vibes are with you to get to your goals faster and swifter.


Well, for me, 2018 was equally a good one as well as not so good one. Hoping the New Year would be a good one and hoping to reach of some goals which needs some urgent attention to accomplish.


While thinking of recapping the year, a few things stood out this year and let me tell you, they were simply amazing. Some of the incidents gave me a taste of what lies ahead but, they also gave me an experience of some good things. Most of the time i have spent overseas and this is the longest stint of stay away from home. Being independent and working towards the goals have been the primary things for me in 2018 and to a certain extent, i have achieved the target.


This year, I have met some amazing people and teams. Knowing them, learning from their experiences and having spent time with them has been something that would be etched in the memory for sure. This would definitely, make me feel, that there are few folks who remember me when i am in a foreign country. There is a saying that Aussies are racist and not so friendly, there were incidents, where most of the things were wrong. of-cousre, there was a share of bitter and happy experiences. Would take all things it as they come on the way and move ahead instead of cursing or feeling bad.


Few of the people/team have been very helpful or guided me along the way all through 2018. Let me bluntly honest here; these legends have helped me to grow as a person and helped me to gro the friendly network across the Let me start in no particular order:

• Tim Crosbie and his team - In Melbourne, or in Australia; if you are a runner, you should know Tim and his Crosbie crew. This gentleman is an amazing individual and has been a role model for many runners across the country. He is the most simplest and down to earth coach/commentator/official/ race director i have ever met in my life. He remembers you by name and you need to attend his coaching or mentoring sessions. He helps you to be active and his coaching would always help you to go a distance. He never shows ego or the attitude that he is a coach of many world championship representatives. Given a chance, i would be the luckiest fellow to work under him. Definitely, an amazing gem of a person to know. Talking about his crew, the Crosbie crew is the largest crew of runners, they are not only big, but during the run Melbourne training runs, give you some tips and help you to train harder with their team.

• Getitdone club aka Gidders - Chris, Shaun, Pete and their fellow gidders are not another running group. But they are friendliest runners who always welcome all class of runners to be part of their social runs. They have Nokkon brand who are involved in some amazing gears. Melbourne instarunners are their brainchild. Their social runs on some special occasions are a chance to meet fellow runners of the city. No bars, but all are welcome in their group. Next time at Melbourne mara, watch them screaming your name at Brunton Avenue just before you are finishing the run.

• Athletics Victoria team - If I am working as an official at any athletics event in Victoria, these are the guys who made it possible. They are a bunch of legends who are always welcoming new learners to the game of athletics. Never ever, I had dreamt in my life that I would be working in photo finish. Many fantasize about the technology, but i am now having a lifetime experience of working with this. Due to their welcoming nature and providing an opportunity to work with a class of super-amazing team of officials, I have gained experience in photo finish and also have been privileged to judge races at national level. They just opened a new door for me and it has really made wonders in my life. I am now a proud official of Athletics Victoria. Whenever i wear the official dress and go on duty, it gives me a sense of pride and Goosebumps. This kind of opportunity would not be a reality in India as outsiders are not welcome. This is definitely an honest observation.

• Hunters A and R - If you would like to train with some speed demons with kickass attitude, these are the guys to be with. Their sessions are brutal, but end of the day there is a gift that makes you feel that the session was worth all the sweat you have shed during those 45 mins. Riley, Andy and Keiran are the main team behind the group. He works for the Movember foundation and his video on suicide prevention really shows how he is involved in some amazing works. Riley (Wolfferine), takes breathtaking snaps of you as you toil around the track. His snaps and simply awesome. Please have a look at his Tempojournal website to know more about his work. Thanks guys for all the help you have done in the year that has helped my transition.

Moments worth pondering in the year:

• Professional life was wayward this season. Even after a good year, there is a sense of something missing which still haunts me always. Spats, accolades, disagreements and escalations were part and parcel of the game. Trying to jump the ship was a failure and ray of hope was the trust which my fellow colleagues had on me to deliver the things. Anyways, i am on radar and would like to be there. Of course, if you are the one; good or bad things will affect you first ;). After seeing 4 strong winds, let me overcome the next one for good.
• Running also had a silent year. Even though my training rate had been constant to 3 days a week, racing was not the priority. I had an opportunity to train again with some amazing people at running circuit at Melbourne. Learning was the key in all the sessions. Be it Hunter's, Gidders, Tim Crosbie, Adidas runners, NikeRC or track sessions, they were amazing and every run or session was a new learning session for me. No wonder they produced some amazing results at the end.
• Racing my first half marathon in Australia, i had a big crack of PB's in the single race. Targeting 1:23 was a reality, but it fizzled out due to heavy headwind. in the end, it was a better one, sub 18 5K, sub 38 10K was the end result and happy to have got it in the same race. Had 3 podium finishes this year, but had to sweat for each one of them
• Pacing continued again. Aim was to go faster and help runners to reach their goals. Ran Run Melbourne, GCAM, Canberra and Melbourne Marathon this year. 2 moments to cherish, Running alongside Pat Carroll at GCAM was amazing. 1:40 was easily achieved. Thanks to Greg C (Sydney Striders), Tim Crosbie and Pat Carroll who kept their trust in me to deliver on the race day again this year.
• Officiating at Zatopek, School championships and Shield events continued and had a great chance to work with some great officials again. Lot of learning's and a chance to spend some quality time at weekend was the goal
• Completed 25 years of running with many more to come. Happy and super proud to be in the business till date where people fade away after some days. Win #5 at SOW was special. Coburg was special for me where all the wins came this year.
• Volunteering was hyper crazy this year. Worked at many events mostly running ones. Main one was volunteering for Guide dogs at F1 and Vision Australia for Christmas. Some weekends were so hectic that 2 days of back to back volunteering was there. But, end of the day was able to get an unique experience and a satisfaction that i was not sitting at home doing nothing. As i am a proud volunteer, shall continue to volunteer and give back my time for a good cause.
• Was busy involved in contributing for many research projects. This was another experiment i tried this year. Aim was to help few research projects of my interest by giving valuable inputs to the researchers who can take the subject's input and use it for their research. In return, was able to get some learnings and great experience of new things :).
• Meeting the two amazing para-athletes Michael Roeger and Jayrd Clifford who give run for money for all able-bodied athletes. They are not only simple, but show how to overcome obstacles and win the races. Truly appreciate their work , dedication and would love to see them go the distance in their career. 
• Rejections for getting sponsored failed. That is not hurting anymore. Took that as a learning and focused on making it bigger and better without it. Learning came by seeing Liam adams talking to Tim after his win. Simple and yet a great lesson for everyone.
• Confession on shopping has to be always done. Sometimes it was too much and in the end, was a sense of no brainer in that. 2019, would see that reduce to a great extent as i have all now to contend with.
• Decision to take a step in exploring new field has begun with more news on the way. If all goes well, then it would be a small leap out of IT in coming years. Hoping to wait and watch.
• Got a unique chance to meet some great athletes at various events. One thing was for sure, these blokes are so simple and humble. The main difference from my country's athletes. Class and helping nature is always there. I was so surprised to see that a WR holder comes to you and wishes back when you do so. Event if is traveling in a tram, he is not that egoistic. Also, they don't show the ego that they are WR or champions. That's a learning which i always carry in the near future.
• Watching Sinead Diver and Liam Adams running at various events. Sinead works for my client and being a 40+ year athlete she has smashed all possible records at multiple distance events this year. Liam showed what is possible when you are not entertained by anyone. With his Tradie Tee, he is running the big events and making his mark there.

Goals for next year:

As time flies so quickly, there is a need for improvements all through the year. Next year shall be more focus on new things to explore and learn. There are some areas to focus and meet targets.

• Keep meeting new people and learn from them. Be it simple things, trick and tips. You never know when it will come handy to you.
• Time for self and travel to new places would be the main focus. Not to forget, initiate the conversation rather than waiting for others to start. That would allow me to know more people easily.
• Running would now take a backseat. But not that much. Trainings to be 3 days a week. Goal is to pace again in the major events and help runners to reach their goals.
• Try to venture into another field where i can explore new avenues as Aussie is big and you never know where you can strike gold.
• Volunteer for selected events rather than going for multiple events. This would allow me to give more time for other things.
• Finish the Level 2 certification so that i can put my next steps in officiating. Officiating at more national events would be the target for the year.
•  Ensure that some very personal goals are met this year as they are long pending and avoiding the questions from others would be then easy in future
• Stay away from troublemakers as its not worth spending time and effort to correct or spending time with them
• Aim to Keep in touch with friends from other parts of the world. You never know when you have an opportunity to meet themLast but not the least, find a good place to spend my time peacefully without any disturbance to others and self

Special Mentions:

Many people at work and off work have been truly helped me this year to go the distance. Some of them even had a great trust in me which was heartwarming. Brendon, Bryan were truly helpful at tracks. Many work colleagues at NAB were truly helpful to meet my targets (don't want to mention them here). AV family of Glenn, Andrea, Craig and Ross were simply welcoming and i got the opportunity to learn new things. Chris and Gidders for the encouragement at the Tuesday sessions. Riley for the amazing shots of my running. Kieran whose work on Movember is really inspiring. Jeff Mcallister, Corey from Hunters, Lululemon team for their wonderful yoga session and treats all round the year, Melissa the supermom, Last but not the least, Tim and Pat caroll for your trust in me for pacing.


As the new year comes, time for next tasks ahead and ensuring all ticks are done in the boxes. Just putting some amazing snaps that were captured by photographer friends all through the year. Once again, thanks to all who made the year memorable one. Folks in the snaps with me are some amazing ones

Rain or Shine, Running is always on

Official Now

Riley when he is not shooting



Kevin, Bryan at Run Melborune


With Uncle Josh



At My fav hunting ground



Running behind the leader



First hand experience at AV cross country



On top of Eureka



Sweating out at Olympic park



Donning a different role for Guide Dogs Victoria



Gidders



At GCM with Brendon and Bryan



GCM Memories




Super Athlete Jayrd Clifford



Another super athlete Dion at MDC



With Chris at Melb mara



With Deb at OHM ( she is a cancer survivor)



We are Running heroes



Wave to AM:PM:RC crew



World records are simply cake walk for Michael Roeger



That moment when i did 5 at SOW



Sandypoint, the HM best



Tear Drop always hurts



With Vision Australia - The folks are visually impaired and cancer survivors



With the amazing Zatopek Photo finish crew


Thanks again for spending your valuable time to go through the post. wishing a happy and prosperous new year. Have fun and achieve greatness in coming years.