Shiva
Peter comes home… Not Peter Pan though ☺ It’s our own Shiva “Peters” who’s just back after completing a grueling half marathon in Hyderabad. “Peters” is a nickname that he adorns owing to his fetish for fancy English words. He is one among the passionate bunch of Chennai Runners, who braved the tough terrain at the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon last week, in a super warm weather – which supposedly brought out the softer side of Chennai!
This boy could run – he did a flat 8 km on his very first outing with Bessie Flyers that included the Adyar flyover. And therefore, it is not surprising that he finished his latest marathon challenge just shy of his PB of 2:13! Pace is one of the many strengths of this six-feet runner, besides his stud-ly looks. Meet Shivram Lakshminarayanan – a Data Scientist employed with a start-up, working on applied math and science to develop insights on online data.
There is a sense of achievement filled elation as well as relief in his voice as he relates to his Hyderabadi experience – “Toughest race I have ever ran so far covering 3 mother of flyovers, and rolling hills” he says with a smirk. He might have missed his goal of 2:10 by a few minutes – but seems happy with the lesson learnt – not to underestimate any course. Well on time target covering the first 15km in 1:35 hours, his quads started begging for relief at the 18th km mark, when he was getting down a steep hill section. His body found it difficult to handle the gravity that was pulling his feet down the incline. It was at that point that he started walking. Though he would have liked to better his PB, he still managed a very good timing, considering the tough terrain and difficult weather.
An active basketball player, who represented his school and college teams at the district level – running comes naturally to him. Sprinting short distances of 4-5 km was all part of the training required to endure high-octane games. However, his move to Bangalore from hometown Coimbatore for work put the brakes to his active lifestyle.
It was a family friend’s casual remark about his weight gain that brought back the spirit in the once-upon-a-time district player that had gone into temporary hibernation. And that was enough for Shiva to hit the gym with a vengeance. He signed with a personal trainer, who incidentally was also a martial arts expert – making one wonder if the martial arts side of his trainer could have been the secret behind his regularity! Each workout session that lasted for over an hour and 45 minutes, coupled with sensible eating habits and adequate sleep ensured that he dropped his inches and weight.
Moving to Chennai on a new assignment, he continued gymming regularly. It was at a stage when started plateauing with regular training that he thought about taking up running. Same time, following his boss’s footsteps not just at work, he signed up for his maiden half-marathon at TWCM.
He initially started training all by himself, running along the beach. Just after a week of solo running, he joined Bessie Flyers – and has been petering his way ever-since!! ;)) Jokes apart, he is one of the star runners in the group alongside the usual hero suspects – Captain, Rajeev, Venkat, Jaguar and others. The group, he feels, is like family to him that has helped him settle in the new place, supporting him through all his ups and downs! Not to mention, the support he enjoys from the backbones – the coaches of the group – Kavitha, Mani and Aravind.
A year as a Bessie flyer and 3 half-marathons later, he now looks at running as a continuous journey and a meditative exercise, with no particular professional ambition. As our conversation draws to close, I cant help but spare a thought to his parents, who would undoubtedly be proud of their young turk, who looks at life in a rounded manner, focusing on the essentials that will ensure long-term happiness, rather than short term thrills and euphoria.
Join us for a run tomorrow and meet this happy, easy-going, tenacious, and mature team player, who is sure to spruce up your day with his hearty chatter, laughter, and peter!!