After participating in the Ironman race in Spain and South Africa, Gaurav Makkar plans to compete in all the Ironman Triathlons and build a startup to help budding athletes and sportspersons. By Sharang Bhaskaran
For Gaurav Makkar, a Delhi-based fitness enthusiast and owner of a popular chain of gyms in the city, it was not enough to just be in the gym, but he wanted to do something more to feed his love for health and fitness. He had heard about Ironman a couple of years back during a casual conversation with a friend of his. It meant testing one’s limits and touching the extreme levels of fitness. This got him inquisitive and he curiously looked for more information about the race on the internet. At that time, he had barely started running long distances. Also, he had never entered the swimming pool till then so it all seemed like a distant dream but as it looked like, destiny had already defined its course by then. “I always love a great challenge and competing in this triathlon was one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced,” the fitness enthusiast said.
The year 2015 began on a high note for him with his debut in the Mumbai Marathon and finishing with an all India category rank of 12. This achievement gave him the much needed encouragement and the nerve to go beyond the full distances marathons and test his limits. With an immediate effect, he signed up for the Ironman Mallorca in Spain which was to be held in September 2015. With seven months left, he had sufficient time to learn swimming and train himself well. He had realised by then that with his high pressure job profile, it won’t be easy especially when it came to spending long hours of training. In April 2015, he ran the london Marathon as his training run and was overwhelmed to complete the same in three and a half hours.
He was trained for seven months rigorously and his regime consisted of strength and endurance training besides running, swimming and cycling. “During the seven months of my training, I divided my hours between strength training and running. I also spent seven months learning and practicing swimming, especially focussing on my timing. My training on the weekdays was divided between upper body strength and lower body training and on the weekends I practiced cycling and swimming. I also started practicing yoga to build flexibility, which is very important when you are switching between very different activities like running, swimming and cycling,” he explained. Also, when you are involved in such a rigorous training programme, your diet is one of the most important aspects that you need to take care of. The fitness freak says he did not follow any rigid diet plan, but made sure that he had a balanced meal at all times during his period of training. “Most people while training for marathons avoid carbohydrates, but what you really need to know is that you must have the right kind of carbohydrates to keep up energy. Of course, I avoided sugar and sweets and all fried food. But I did have my cheat days when I could eat whatever I wanted to,” he pointed out.
In spite of having everything figured out for him, Makkar says that it was certainly a challenge balancing a full-time business, family life and training for an event like the Ironman. “I knew it would not be easy balancing everything all the time, but I wanted to do it. I wanted to prove to people, that despite being married and having a family, you can still follow your dreams and passions and I think I did prove it by showing them that it can be done,” he declared. “My wife and my family were extremely supportive of me throughout while I was training and I am very thankful to them for the same,” he added.
Not many have completed the grueling Ironman race in India and hence not many role models were there for him to get in touch with or look up to. The journey for Ironman was full of challenges, starting from weather conditions, unsafe roads for practicing cycling, non-availability of open water body to practice swimming and not to forget to mention, no Olympic size pool. His resolution and his will to test his limits kept him going. Even when he eventually reached Spain for the Ironman in Mallorca last year, there were more challenges for him ahead. “Just a day before the Ironman, I had a bicycle crash and broke my toe and got 14 stitches. The doctor said that I could not participate in the triathlon, much less go into water or run,” he said. “But I could not stop or give up when I was already there and so close to achieving my dream. So with just a day’s rest and a lot of painkillers to help me, I participated the next day and successfully completed the triathlon,” he said proudly. He felt a sense of satisfaction after completing his first Ironman triathlon. It was an achievement that he couldn't describe in words at that instant. “Dreams are not worth stopping for. Instead, they are worth working for,” he added. In April 2016, the Ironman South Africa gave him another sense of achievement. But this achievement has cemented his resolution to complete the other Ironman Triathlons that are left. He also plans to run in the marathons in Berlin, Boston and New York in the upcoming months.
His experience at the Ironman Triathlons seeing participating athletes from other countries has made him realise that a lot needs to be done in India to support independent sportspersons and athletes by providing them the platform and essential resources to train. “Other athletes that I met during the triathlon had a lot of support from their governments with respect to financial support and providing resources to train them. In India, we do not have dedicated cycling tracks on the streets or professional swimming pools to train. I have been developing an idea I have for a startup aimed at providing a platform to athletes who don’t have access to necessary resources for training. That includes nutrition, training, sports brand equipment and guidance,” Makkar said. There is no stopping him from following his dreams.